I RATE ADS

jtherkal: If you like Coke that much, keep some at your camp, jackass. Don’t go steal it from some poor African. This didn’t really live up to the level that Coke has set for itself recently. Plus, that song was from an old-time porno I had as a kid, so whenever I hear it, that’s all I can think of. C.

sjbooher: Ha, I love: “If you like Coke that much, keep some at your camp, jackass”. Also, Coke joined the male pantsless club, with this one, if that counts. About halfway through, I thought “What’s the product? I’m no longer watching, let’s go buy some Ambien.” F.

jtherkal: I hate KISS. And even though I can’t deny the “little kiss of cherry” in Dr. Pepper leading into a little person KISS band is marginally clever, if offensive, I still hate KISS. I hate little KISS just a little less. D-.

sjbooher: Sometimes I don’t “get” things. I didn’t “get” “little kiss of cherry”. When you couple that with my similar hatred? F-.

sjbooher: In the words of the great Scott Huff, this ad is a complete dumpster fire. PTI’s Michael Wilbon put it best, I think: “The Troy Polamalu Coke ad was so bad. They desecrated a great ad, and the people who did it, should be fired. Ok? I know in this economy, I shouldn’t recommend that people be fired. They brutalized the greatest sports commercial of all-time. Mean Joe, ‘here kid’. They just killed it. GET OUT! GET OUT!”. F. F-.

jtherkal: The joke was that they were butchering the commercial. But that doesn’t make it okay. I loved those two guys in the original campaign, where they wanted to file a lawsuit against Coke Zero. But they’ve lost it here. And for the record, I love Wilbon and Kornheiser! I would say let’s get them in an ad, but that might ruin them as well. F.

sjbooher: Very well done. I personally don’t enjoy it, but everything about this is well executed and probably well-received by the public. It’s creative, pleasant to the senses and all of that. But it reminds me of the creepy Traveler’s umbrella guy. B+

jtherkal: I heard someone say it’s the same as their “Happiness Factory” commercial, which blew everything away a few years back. While I can see the similarities–computer animation, little things interacting with Coke bottle–it’s not quite the same. First, it’s not as good. Second, it’s got bugs in it. I love bugs. It’s fun and reminds me that everyone should enjoy some Coca-Cola. A.

sjbooher: Good. I like avatars, cartoon characters, video game characters — all of that. I also like seing said things mixed into the real world. I also like Coke, especially Coke in a glass bottle with a straw. And now you’re telling me it turns monsters into hot girls? Awesome. A.

jtherkal: Eh. Whatever. I don’t like the song and I don’t really see how this is a Coke commercial. I guess you can do just about anything, then put Coke at the end and it works. I might like this if it was for something else. But it’s not. C-.

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-.