Downy Remakes Mean Joe Greene Commercial For Super Bowl (VIDEO)

Downy is remaking a classic 1980s Super Bowl commercial for its first spot during the big game this year: the 1980 ad featuring "Mean" Joe Greene of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The new spot is supporting Downy's Unstopable scent-boosting products.

The iconic original featured a little boy offering Greene a bottle of Coca Cola. Thirty-three years later, the detergent brand is bringing Greene back. This time, though, he's starring opposite Amy Sedaris, who has a bottle of Downy Unstopables in hand. Just like the 1980s storyline, Mean Joe grudgingly accepts the bottle and really enjoys the scent. The new ad, however, comes with an unscripted twist at the end.

The remake follows after an icon: AdAge readers voted the 1980s commercial, which was made by McCann-Erickson, their all-time favorite Super Bowl ad in a 2011 poll. The Downy commercial, produced by Grey, will air during the pregame between 5:30 and 6 p.m. on February 5.

Coca-Cola's 1980s commercial:

Also on HuffPost:

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• The Dog Strikes Back (Volkswagen)

• Lexus Presents the 15-Second Teaser for the "Big Game"

• The Bark Side: 2012 Volkswagen Game Day Commercial Teaser

• Samsung "Next Big Thing" Super Bowl Ad Preview - Turn By Turn Directions

• 2011 Oikos commercial with John Stamos

• Doritos 2012 finalist: Man's Best Friend

• Jerry Seinfeld For Acura

• Ferris Bueller Returns

• Downy Unstopables

• Audi: Vampire Party

Comments

[LiberalBuzz]

01:34 AM on 02/02/2012

Who was the kid and whatever happened to him?

Welllll if you are interested...

http://thefilmgeek.blogspot.com/2009/02/whatever-happened-totommy-okon.html

[msstrick40]

10:47 PM on 02/01/2012

Love the commericial if for no other reason than to see Mean Joe again....but why did these companies spend all these millions of dollars for these Super Bowl spots...if they're gonna show them all before Sunday.

This is like the 3rd or 4th commerical I've seen.

[Jazz88105]

05:04 PM on 02/01/2012

Have news for you Downy the commercial stinks !

[NatTurner1]

02:59 PM on 02/01/2012

Teary-eyed! Watching the original commercial that was played around the time I watched Soul Train, on a day that Don Cornelius is found dead. Long live the seventies and eighties!

[clarendon67]

01:46 PM on 02/01/2012

That original commercial makes you go Aww!!

[usamade]

11:25 AM on 02/01/2012

OMG I am reminded of my age because I remember the original commercial :)

[atravelinturtle]

12:40 PM on 02/01/2012

Then .... you're one of the lucky ones!

[IsabelRingin]

10:59 AM on 02/01/2012

Here's the long version of the original Mean Joe Green commercial. This one's better than the short version .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOCZYX6F8

[Tyroc]

09:53 AM on 02/01/2012

"Thanks Mean Joe"
"Go Away...and take that smelly t-shirt with ya!"
(taken from the song "Wide Receiver" by Michael Henderson)

[msstrick40]

10:44 PM on 02/01/2012

Hey....."Wide Receiver"....an oldie but a goodie.

[Marvin Hadley Jr]

09:18 AM on 02/01/2012

Makes me grepse just a little, eh?

[triplettam]

08:14 AM on 02/01/2012

Funny.

[SmartAmerica]

11:35 PM on 01/31/2012

I thought George Lucas and Michael Bey were the only ones allowed to systematically ruin Americans' childhood memories.

Some things ought not be allowed.

[GoneLongGone]

10:57 AM on 02/01/2012

Lighten up.

It was a funny commercial and I'm betting Greene had a blast making it.

[wrichards]

11:31 PM on 01/31/2012

I believe the original "Mean Joe" commercial was made and released in the 1970's -- not the 80's!
Huff Post fact checkers........are you there???

[TaxpayingVoter]

01:13 AM on 02/01/2012

Yeah, that was 70s. I was thinking the same thing.

[Artinhouston]

11:18 PM on 01/31/2012

That wasn't good or funny at least they weren't in there underwear like in all those commercials in the Saints vs Colts one a few years back.

[auditor0007]

10:59 PM on 01/31/2012

Sorry, but it doesn't work. The original was one of the best of all time; this is one of the worst.

[Ken Blackwell]

10:28 PM on 01/31/2012

excuse me?? didn't any of you see the age in this new "mean Joe" i would imagine those of you that are being critical of an iconic (old and boring??) commercial have never explained who "Mean Joe Greene" is, why he's part of the games history and why the Super Bowl commercials are so important- tell your 4 year old grandson about the first 40 something Super Bowls and I would bet you can remember some of those old and boring (perhaps nostalgic) adds