I RATE ADS

sjbooher: Ha, they got the original MacGyver. I really only two things about MacGruber — the opening song and the explosion shot at the end. The dialogue portion was not particularly funny and the jerky camera made me dizzy. I am also not sure what this does for Pepsi, or what it is suppose to emote. For this one to really work, I think it had to be one of those where the next day people were like, “Ha, and did you see that Pepsuber one?” Not sure if this pulled that off. A few other things I don’t know: a) How many people watch SNL and were already familiar with MacGruber? b) How many people that do not watch SNL, remember, or ever knew about, MacGyver? Finally, Kristen Wiig for mayor. C-.

jtherkal: I wasn’t familiar with MacGruber. I know about MacGyver. But if their target audience was 13-21 year old kids, I bet the answer is “some” to a, and “not many” to b. Now that I’ve answered your questions, I will say that people at my party definitely stopped to pay attention to this one. That being said, I sort of hate it. I guess maybe Pepsi thought they were refreshing MacGuyver? Or refreshing transparency in advertising? Who knows. Since I think the overall buzz was good, I’m going to set my dislike aside and give this one a B+.

They have some other cuts which didn’t air during the Super Bowl, so they don’t count. I like this one the best, but only the intro. The rest is lame:

jtherkal: You know what? I’m buying this. I hate diet cola and sometimes I get hurt. You’re speaking my language Pepsi Max. I think they could have found more clever slapstick humor jokes (the first one where the saw shoots the wood into his back is good), but overall it delivers the message. Loud and clear. B+.

sjbooher:Awful and stupid. And it is a direct rip off of a recent Milwaukee’s Best campaign. That is all. F.

jtherkal: Maybe you didn’t pay attention. In the Milwaukee’s Best campaign, someone is doing something un-manly (running from a bug, etc) and he gets SMASHED by a giant can that falls from the sky. This is saying men get hurt and they can take it, but that we don’t like diet soda. So it’s different, but that might not make it less awful or stupid, in your opinion.

sjbooher: This is “jammin’ on the one” as Theo Huxtable said back in the day. Love. And this is officially an Ad That Works, as I bought a 12-pack of Pepsi on Monday. Show the product in some more prominent way, and you get your A+. A.

jtherkal: That’s more like it, Pepsi. The only thing this could have used was a little refreshing sexy pour of the Pepsi onto some ice cubes in a glass. That’s what makes me thirsty. My complaint about the last refresh everything commercial was that they didn’t refresh the song, which they did here. That’s good enough for me. A-.

The Mouth:
Is it just me, or is there something gratifying about watching Justin Timberlake get smashed into things and dragged down the street? Call it jealousy–because that would be accurate. I’m surprised they included the part where he freezes outside the window of the shirtless guy in a wig. Creepy and funny, but not something I expected to see from Pepsi. Seems like someone in some meeting would have given that part the axe. And when he gets cracked in the head by a flat-panel TV, that reminds me how much I love TVs. Who’s bringing sexy back now, bitch? And how hard must it have been not to label this the “sucking Justin” ad. I’m just saying…

I get the overall message loud and clear: with every drink you’re closer to Pepsi Stuff. B+.

The Hawk:
I mean, to quote the great Dennis Green, “It is what I thought it was!” JT starts right off by saying it’s childish and immature, and I’ll be damned if he ain’t right. Throughout the ad I DON’T get it, and I’m too irritated by the end to care about whatever dumb point they are trying to prove. Nothing like a good crotch joke to really ratchet up the creativity! And isn’t he supposed to be sexy and cool and not a straight cornball? F.