In Big Game Taste Test, a Polar Bear Picks Pepsi Over Coke

The confused beast struggles hard to make sense of such brand-boosting irony

A Coke-style CG polar bear chooses Pepsi Zero Sugar over Coca-Cola’s comparable soda in the SB60 taste-test commercial below. Naturally, the creature seeks psychiatric help as it struggles with an ensuing existential crisis.

So, Coke takes a (good-natured?) mauling, with the spot from BBDO, PepsiCo Content Studio and director Taika Waititi sending up its famous mascot and slick, tech-driven animation vibe.

We’ll subtract points for the inclusion of Queen’s ludicrously overplayed “I Want to Break Free.” Could they find no other track?! Though on second thought, given the very nature of the exercise, it’s probably best to stick with the classics. What better tune for a vehicle designed to stir nostalgia and stoke mass appeal, driving straight down the middle of adland’s biggest road?

Overall, it’s a splashy entry in the unending cola wars sure to garner its share of attention. Given the pedigree of the brands and the cheeky one-upmanship, this ranks as the most Super Bowl ad of Super Bowl 60 so far.

“I love a good challenge. So I jumped at the chance to take part in what many consider the biggest pop culture competition outside of streaming vs. theatrical,” Waititi says in press materials.

The :45 above began streaming today on Pepsi’s YouTube channel. A 30-second edit will air during NBC’s Big Game telecast on Feb. 8.