Hey Kid, Catch!

Hey Kid, Catch!
Agency McCann-Erickson
Client The Coca-Cola Company
Language English
Running time 0:60
Product
Release date(s) October 1, 1979 (1979-10-01)
Directed by Roger Mosconi
Music by "Coke and a Smile"
Starring
Country United States

"Hey Kid, Catch!" is the popular name for a television advertisement for Coca-Cola starring Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene, which debuted on October 1, 1979, and was aired again several times, most notably during Super Bowl XIV in 1980. The 60-second commercial won a Clio Award for being one of the best television commercials of 1979.[1]

Officially titled "Mean Joe Greene" by McCann-Erickson, the ad agency that created the commercial (which was part of the "Have a Coke and a Smile" ad campaign), the set-up and payoff is classic simple advertising: Following a football game, a child (Tommy Okon) offers an injured Greene a Coke, prompting "Mean" Joe to grab the bottle and guzzle the entire contents, before turning to limp away. He then turns back toward the now-crestfallen child, smiles and tosses the kid his team jersey with the now-famous punchline, "Hey Kid, Catch!".[2] The commercial was listed as one of the top ten commercials of all time by multiple sources, including TV Guide magazine. The ad was also shown in many other countries (including the UK) even where Greene was not well known.

The campaign's art director was Roger Mosconi, the writer was Penny Hawkey, and the singers of the "Coke and a Smile" jingle were Jim Campbell, Don Thomas, Liz Corrigan, Shellie Littman, Arlene Martell, and Linda November. The footage was shot in May 1979 in a small stadium in Mount Vernon, New York, and the commercial was released on October 1, 1979, on ABC's Monday Night Football, though its airing during the 1980 Super Bowl brought it the most attention due to the program's enormous audience.[3][4]

Greene later recalled that in filming the commercial, it took several takes to get his final line in the commercial right ("Hey, kid, catch!") "It's very hard to gulp down an entire bottle of Coca-Cola, and then speak clearly. The first three takes we did, when I finished the bottle, I looked at the kid and said, 'Hey, kid...Urrrp!' It wasn't intentional. I just couldn't say the line without burping."

In popular culture

The commercial was later adapted to star other countries' sports stars, including Argentina (with Diego Maradona playing Greene's role), Australia (with Australian rules footballer Michael Tuck) Brazil (with Zico), France (with Michel Platini), Italy (with Dino Zoff), Thailand (with Niwat Srisawat), and West Germany (with Harald Schumacher). Also, a similar-themed advert for Pepsi aired in the UK with David Beckham many years later.

References

  1. "The 10 Best Award-Winning TV Ads Everyone Must See". Business Insider. 18 January 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  2. Coca-Cola Classic ad: Mean Joe Green [Full Version] (1979). YouTube. 17 July 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  3. Isaacs, Stan (December 17, 1979). "Mean Joe: Goliath plays Othello". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  4. "Singers' Seminar explores steps to success" (pdf). Stand By 43 (2) (New York: AFTRA). Fall 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2011. At the request of the singers in the audience, Arlene sang "A Coke and a Smile", a classic jingle with Mean Joe Green which has played every year for a decade on Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials, and in 2009 was voted into the Super Bowl Hall of Fame. Singers on the commercial are Jim Campbell, Don Thomas, Liz Corrigan, Shellie Littman, Arlene Martell, and Linda November
  5. 11-22-1999 WTOL Late Night Commercials. YouTube. 12 May 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  6. Hinds, Julie (February 2, 2009). "Super Bowl ads deliver big laughs". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  7. "Coke to reprise ‘Mean Joe’ commercial for Super Bowl". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  8. "Former Seaside boy set to appear in Super Bowl commercial Sunday -". The Daily Astorian (Astoria, Oregon). February 4, 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  9. "‘Mean’ Joe Greene Reunites With Coca-Cola Kid 40 Years Later". glennbeck.com. Glen Beck. January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
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