Super Bowl Commercials 2012: Downy Misses with Retread Mean Joe Greene Ad

One of the many issues I have with the film industry is the sheer number of remakes they push in front of the public these days. Where's the fun or originality in that?

Well, apparently Super Bowl commercials are no different. This year, Downy is bringing back Mean Joe Greene to do an updated version of his classic Coca-Cola commercial. And frankly, it falls flat. Take a look for yourself.

In case you need a refresher course (pun intended), Downy is spoofing this classic Coca-Cola ad:

That is one of the finest commercials of all time. I mean, just look how nice that Coca-Cola made the man whose nickname was "Mean."

This isn't the first time the concept has been utilized for the Super Bowl. Coke Zero had fun with the old ad by updating it with Troy Polamalu:

That worked. Same type of product, similar premise and a built-in joke—Coke Zero had an entire campaign revolving around the Coke guys trying to prove that Coke Zero was a rip-off of Coke because they were pushing the concept that the two products tasted the same.

But this Downy spot is just plain old weird. It is sort of funny that they have the hilarious Amy Sedaris playing the role of the little boy, and Greene noting, "Last time I'm doing this" at the end of the commercial is a nice touch.

You can see how this would seem like a clever idea in a brainstorming meeting: What if we had someone give Mean Joe Greene some Downy, and when he tossed his jersey to them in gratitude, they threw it back because the jersey was sweaty and smelly?

That totally works for a laundry product.

But because people have seen the original ad so often and parodies have already been done, it makes it feel like an old joke, even if it isn't. The joke is new—the premise is old. And because the premise is old, the new joke just feels overdone and strange.

So, I like the effort, Downy. But sometimes, you just can't teach an old commercial new tricks.

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