National Lampoon's Vacation film series is a comedy film series initially based on John Hughes' short story "Vacation '58" that was originally published by National Lampoon magazine. The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists of five main films, two of which are not sponsored by National Lampoon, and one spin-off. In recent years, the series has been the inspiration for various advertising campaigns featuring some of the original cast members. The series portrays the misadventures of the Griswold family, and in particular family patriarch Clark Griswold - whose well meaning attempts to provide his family and children with the perfect vacation continually go awry in spectacular fashion, landing them in the middle of various disasters and strangely embarrassing predicaments. In the course of a typical plot, Clark's laid back demeanour and eternal optimism is gradually tested as the mishaps pile up, which culminate in him experiencing a total meltdown, with him often resorting to extreme measures to achieve his aims.