This is a fun industry. It makes fun, refreshing products. It enhances fun times (like watching the Super Bowl). And it makes some downright fun - and often funny - commercials.
This year's ads from Pepsi and Coca-Cola promise to provide some of the best entertainment of the day, including the game itself. From the sneak previews the companies are sharing (hyperlinked below), the ads promise to be a mix of cutting-edge technology, feel-good humor and even a new twist on an old classic.
Pepsi has told Sip & Savor that it plans to run between five and six minutes of advertising during the Super Bowl, saying it will be the largest advertiser in the game.
Though Pepsi is still finalizing a few Super Bowl ad selections for its variety of products, it has given us this rundown of when viewers can expect to see most of its advertising. Look for ads for Pepsi/Forever Young and Pepsi Max/I'm Good during the game's First Quarter; SoBe Lifewater/Lizard Lake in the Second Quarter; and then Pepsi Max/Monkey and SoBe Lifewater/Dancing Man in the Fourth Quarter.
You'll have to tune in to the game to catch Forever Young and Dancing Man. Ad selections for the Gatorade brand are still being made as well. But here's a fun behind-the-scenes video on the making of Lizard Lake. It features NFL stars Ray Lewis, Justin Tuck and Matt Light with their best ballet moves (and ballet gear), as well as Lee the Lizard and the cast of the upcoming DreamWorks movie Monsters vs Aliens.
Coca-Cola plans to entertain with a nod to the digital age and to one of its most classic commercials.
The company is confirming plans to run ads called Avatar and Heist for its Coca-Cola product. And taking advantage of the Pittsburgh Steelers playing in yet another Super Bowl, Coca-Cola will air a commercial for Coke Zero called Mean Troy that does a modern take on the company’s classic Mean Joe Greene ad from the Steel Curtain era. "Mean Troy" is the Steelers All-Pro Safety Troy Polamalu.
Coke is keeping a tight wrap on the ending to Mean Troy, which promises a special twist on the original. It's a twist that the Coke folks and Mean Joe say you won't want to miss. Steelers' fans, listen closely to this interview with Mean Joe on the making of new ad; he provides an intriguing connection between the two ads and the Super Bowl years in which they will have aired.
PepsiCo, which is the parent company of Pepsi and the Frito-Lay brands, will run ads for Doritos and Cheetos in the first half of Sunday's game as well.
These great companies never disappoint with their quality products. And their advertising never disappoints on Super Bowl Sunday.
So wait for those drawn-out Instant Replay reviews before you break to the restroom or kitchen. You need to stay nice and comfortable in your chair for the commercials. Let our companies refresh and entertain you.