Years ago, I loved the Coke commercial where a little boy offers a Coke to a tired Mean Joe Greene. Great ad, especially considering that at the time, Greene was a fearsome and feared player. So I was looking forward to the update of the ad with Steelers great Troy Polamalu.
Post-game verdict: fun but a little disappointing. It’s not as heart-warming as the original, which showed a soft side to Hall-of-Famer Greene. Also, why would “Coke” accuse “Coke Zero” of stealing Coke’s taste and commercials? That’s like Nike accusing Nike of stealing the Nike name. In addition, maybe it’s just the law professor in me, but I think the commercial would’ve been much funnier if the stuffed shirts who grab the Coke Zero bottle were corporate lawyers rather than “brand managers.” After all, Polamalu tackles one of them to get back the drink.
Final thought: corporate brand managers grabbing a bottle from Troy Polamalu? Sorry, guys, learn your football. Polamalu grabs balls from the other team, you don’t grab things from him.