Like The Bear? Then You'll Love This Coca-Cola And Sprite Commercial

Although the Super Bowl is still a month away, the Coca-Cola company is already rolling out a commercial that seems set to generate Big Game buzz, as described in a report from The Drum. For one thing, the ad industry is in a tizzy over the fact that the commercial hypes up several different brands under the same umbrella, the main ones being Sprite and Coca-Cola. Of more interest to the viewer, however, is likely the fact that the commercial is clearly inspired by the hit Hulu series "The Bear."

The ursine vibes emanating from the ad spot, titled "New Guy," may be due to the fact that it was directed by Chris Storer, who also directs the T.V. show. Storer intended for the commercial to echo a holiday episode called "Fishes" that aired during Season 2 of "The Bear." The setting for the episode was a family get-together, as is the case in the commercial. While the latter includes all of the chaos (and chaos cooking) that fans have come to associate with the show, the ad spot's big, wacky family is seemingly bound together by their shared love of Coca-Cola products.

While the cut that airs on T.V. may be shorter, the version of "New Guy" that can be seen on YouTube lasts a full 90 seconds, which is practically Homeric in commercial terms (this is fitting, though, since "The Odyssey" was another inspiration for the ad, per Marketing Dive). Even so, there isn't much plot to the commercial. In short, a woman brings her new boyfriend home to meet the family, and they're a bit "over-Bear-ing," so to speak. There's also a running gag in which the family learns the "new guy" is tall, even though his girlfriend previously described him as short, leading to much confusion. By the end of the spot, however, the boyfriend is accepted into the family, and togetherness ensues.

If you're used to old-school commercials that simply explain their products' many virtues, you may find "New Guy" to be a bit of a surprise — though perhaps a refreshing one, even more so than the sodas it celebrates. Coke, Sprite, Coke Zero Sugar, Honest Juice, and Smart Water are all presented in a manner more akin to movie product placement than a T.V. ad. Only at the end do we finally see them all together in a single shot, at which point Coca-Cola inserts its tagline, "Proud Sponsors of What Matters Most."