Pepsi took a jab at Coca-Cola with its new Super Bowl commercial. Fans are already aware of Pepsi and Coke’s long-standing, legendary rivalry. It seems that Pepsi is cashing in on the Super Bowl hype with a new ad starring a cola-loving polar bear and Taika Waititi.
Coca-Cola’s mascot prefers Pepsi in new Super Bowl ad
Pepsi threw not-so-subtle shade at its competitor, Coca-Cola, in a new Super Bowl commercial. Pepsi released the ad on their official X account with the caption: “Challenge over, winner decided: The choice is PEPSI.”
For those unversed, a polar bear is the official mascot of Coca-Cola. The video begins with a polar bear wearing a blindfold, taking a sip from a Pepsi can, and smacking his lips in appreciation. He points to Pepsi Zero Sugar as his preferred choice of drink. He takes off the blindfold to realize he chose his competitor over his own brand.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi stars as a therapist who counsels Coca-Cola’s mascot polar bear. Waititi remarks, “You are not the only one,” as the bear growls quietly. “Hmm, this can be heavy. Tell me about your mother,” Waititi questions.
The sad polar bear walks on the hustling streets of the city and watches people enjoy Pepsi Zero Sugar over Coke’s Zero Sugar. Another polar bear mascot taps him from behind and hands him a Pepsi can.
The scene cuts to a Super Bowl match with the Pepsi logo splashed everywhere. Pepsi takes a swipe at Coldplay’s infamous jumbotron incident from last year. However, instead of hiding, the two polar bears embrace each other, holding Pepsi cans and posing together. The commercial ends with the tagline, “You deserve taste. You deserve Pepsi.”
Waititi, who also directed the commercial, commented, “The cola wars have become such a memorable and deeply ingrained part of pop culture and, weirdly, of the human experience, if you’ve ever watched TV and grew up in the ’70s and ’80s and ’90s, and even earlier than that.” (via PEOPLE).
Based on reactions to Pepsi’s post, fans are loving the commercial as well. One user commented, “I am so glad the marketing team for Pepsi are smart, brilliant people. I needed this in my life. Let it be known, I am your biggest fan.” Finally, a second user wrote, “Pepsi really said, ‘If you can’t beat them, steal their mascot.’”
