The Coca-Cola Super Bowl Ad That Got Turned Into a Movie
What To Know
- Coca-Cola’s iconic 1979 “Hey Kid, Catch” Super Bowl commercial featuring is considered one of the greatest ads of all time.
- The commercial’s popularity led NBC to create a made-for-TV movie.
- The ad’s legacy endures through international adaptations, frequent parodies, and reunions.
Did you know that one of the most famous Super Bowl commercials was turned into a movie?
In 1979, Coca-Cola debuted the ad known as “Hey Kid, Catch,” starring Pittsburgh Steelers legend “Mean” Joe Greene and a shy young fan. It was only 60 seconds long, but it struck such a chord with viewers that, just two years later, it actually inspired an entire television movie.
If you grew up watching football in the late ’70s or early ’80s, you almost certainly remember the commercial. It featured Greene, limping off the field after a tough game, being approached by a young boy who offered him his bottle of Coke. The gruff football star softens, drinks the soda, and then tosses the kid his game jersey with the now-classic line, “Hey kid, catch.”
The ad first aired on October 1, 1979, during Monday Night Football, and it quickly became a sensation. It was later shown during Super Bowl XIV in 1980, which helped cement its legendary status. The commercial won a Clio Award and has repeatedly been named one of the greatest commercials of all time. Even people who never cared about football knew that scene. What many fans don’t realize is just how popular the ad became behind the scenes. Coca-Cola re-filmed versions of it in other countries using local sports heroes, including soccer stars like Diego Maradona and Zico.
By 1981, the idea had grown so big that NBC decided to take it a step further. The network produced a made-for-television movie called The Steeler and the Pittsburgh Kid, which aired on November 15, 1981. The film was part of NBC’s Project Peacock series, a group of family-friendly specials meant to deliver wholesome entertainment. In the film, Greene essentially befriends a nine-year-old boy who needs guidance and support. Actor Henry Thomas, who would become famous the very next year as Elliott in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, played the child. Instead of a brief encounter in a stadium tunnel, the story imagined Greene taking on a fatherly role and teaching the boy valuable life lessons.
Greene appeared as himself in the film, along with several other real-life Pittsburgh Steelers, including Franco Harris. The movie was, of course, fictional, but it leaned into Greene’s tough-guy image while also showing his softer side, just as the commercial had. The original commercial also has some amusing behind-the-scenes stories. Greene later joked in interviews that filming wasn’t as smooth as it looked. Because he had to drink so much soda during multiple takes, he struggled to keep his burps out of his lines. According to Greene, it took several days to get everything just right.
More than four decades later, the “Hey Kid, Catch” ad still pops up regularly on lists of the best Super Bowl commercials ever. It has been parodied on shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy and Futurama, and Coca-Cola even recreated it in 2009 with Steelers star Troy Polamalu for a modern audience. In 2016, Greene reunited with Tommy Okon, the boy from the original ad, during a CBS special celebrating classic Super Bowl commercials.
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1970s Fall TV
September 2023
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