Coca-Cola: “Mean Joe Greene”
An injured football star cheers up after a kid offers him his Coke, and throws him his jersey.
- Brand
- Coca-Cola
- Year
- 1979
- Agency
- McCann Erickson
- Category
- Drinks
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive player "Mean" Joe Greene limps down a stadium tunnel after a game. A young boy shyly offers him his bottle of Coca-Cola. Greene drinks it all in one go, and as the disappointed boy turns away, he calls out "Hey kid, catch!" and throws him his jersey.
The ad was created by McCann Erickson and first aired in 1979, then famously during the 1980 Super Bowl. It contrasted Greene's tough on-field reputation with a simple moment of kindness, and made him far more famous outside sport.
It is still considered one of the best Super Bowl ads of all time and has been parodied and remade many times. Its structure, a small gesture with a big emotional payoff, became a model for countless "heartwarming" ads.
Watch the full ad on YouTube
Could you recognise it with the logo hidden? This ad is one of 129 famous commercials in Guess the Ad.
Play Guess the AdMore stories
- Coca-Cola — “Hilltop — "I'd like to buy the world a Coke"”1971 · A choir of young people from around the world sings "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" on an Italian hilltop.
- Coca-Cola — “Holidays Are Coming”1995 · The glowing red Coca-Cola trucks that, for many viewers, mark the start of Christmas.
- Coca-Cola — “Northern Lights (Polar Bears)”1993 · Computer-animated polar bears watch the northern lights while sharing bottles of Coke.