A celebrity in cut-offs drinking soda at a gas station, as two small children stare? No, it’s not Cindy Crawford’s legendary 1992 Super Bowl commercial for Pepsi; it’s Jelly Roll’s new advertisement for Zevia, a zero-sugar carbonated drink.
In the commercial, Jelly Roll drives up to a petrol station in a flashy red vehicle, gets out, and walks in slow motion to a beverage case, all while the music for Salt-N-Pepa’s hit “Whatta Man” plays in the background. He’s wearing cutoffs and cowboy boots, making “sexy” faces and running his hands through his mullet while cracking open a Zevia root beer. Meanwhile, two small children stare at him with gaping mouths.
“Jelly roll?” In the Zevia commercial? “This is huge,” says one child. “By choosing him as the spokesperson for their zero- sugar soda with zero artificial ingredients, Zevia is dismantling the notion that ‘real men’ cannot be conscious of what goes into their bodies.”
“Mr. Roll is now, quite literally, the poster child for sweet authenticity,” the kid says.
His friend looks to him and asks, “What?” Jelly Roll belches and holds out the can and cheese for the camera. As the commercial and music complete, Jelly continues to hold the camera and smile.
“Why’s he just standing there?” one child inquires.
In Crawford’s original Pepsi commercial, the youngsters ogle at the supermodel while she drinks a Pepsi, but they aren’t gazing at her—they’re staring at her drink. One asks the other, “Is that a great new Pepsi can, or what?”
