We imagine that Jeff Gordon and his friends at Pepsi got bored one day, and decided to prank a car salesman. So they disguised Jeff as a slightly older and more “dorky” guy, equipped him with a video camera or two, and sent him into a dealership to test drive a Chevy Camaro. Introducing himself as Mike, a minivan-driving fella who thinks the Camaro just might be “too much car” for him, Gordon proceeds to turn the dealer lot and surrounding buildings into a high-speed drifting arena, while Steve the salesman almost soils himself:
Our favorite part is when Jeff (aka “Mike”) asks the sales associate: “You alight over there, Steve?”, who replies with a candid “You’re an idiot and I’m gonna kill you.”
The GM Authority Take
Still laughing as I write this, let’s note a few inconsistencies in the video: for starters, the 2013 Camaro V6 (with the new steering wheel, MyLink, and 2013 wheels) has an ’09 sticker on its windshield. And even though it’s a V6, the video has a throaty V8-like soundtrack to it. And that makes us wonder whether Chevy, the dealership, and/or the Steve the salesman was in on the prank as well. Gordon does drive a Chevy SS (ahem) in NASCAR, after all.
But given the comedic/entertainment value of the video, would you care if Chevy were behind it, or if Pepsi Max gets an occasional shout-out from Mr. Gordon here and there? Also, is it just me, or did Jeff not make any right turns?
Comments
Alex your right . Why is there an green 09 sticker on a 2013 Camaro? The gen 5 was released in 2010 and Jeff Gordon is clearly driving a 2013 with the my link infotainment radio and 2013 rear view mirror. Big oversite even for a prank Pepsi commercial…….but it was quite funny….
Good prank. But I can’t help but wonder how their lawyers would have gotten their butts out of that if there was an accident while filming…It would NOT have been funny…But since everything went well..it was HILARIOUS!
Car’s always have truck stop dash-can holders too…
But the thing is, 90% of the population is, for lack of a better term, too stupid to realize. Most people wouldn’t know it if their own ass was on fire, let alone inconsistencies in a staged commercial.
Is that an aftermarket cup holder? what a coincidence!
Pepsi did one with a basketball player a while back that was staged, no question about it. I would be really surprised if this wasn’t staged as well. No harm done I guess even if it is fake, I suppose.
Wasn’t that guy installing a few things on the car when they went inside?
Yeah!! I liked that 🙂
I’m thinking that’s a rental car from Enterprise, National, or Alamo. Check out the barcode sticker in the back windows and the close-up of when the “salesperson” gives the keys to Jeff – they have a plastic holder with a barcode and vehicle information.
The 09/13 thing and the cup holder tell me their continuity guy was absent that day. The guy installing cameras was pretty funny but no way someone would not have said something if the dealer was not in on it. I also noticed how they came screaming into the front of the dealer and Steve is jumping out but suddenly they are magically in the parking spot where they started. Haha!!
Did anyone else notice the CanCam was not opened? I would have thought that was pretty weird, someone carrying around an unopened can. =)
Really, Steve, I am totally jealous!! I would have loved every second of that, even if I did not know it was Gordon! 🙂
Ok! Ça c’est une pub cool!! Bravo!!
Ok !! Ça c’ est un pub cool!! Bravo!!
ok the 09 if you look at the other cars they are all numbered the truck 10, car next to it 11 then 12. might be a stock number thing.
Was the Cruze at 2:15 in on it?
Was wondering the same thing, Justin. I imagine that it was, given how dangerous the passing maneuver was, let alone the drifting u-turn that came quite close to hitting the Cruze’s rear end. That, and the vent-mountain cup holder are the other giveaways.
Pepsi has adopted a guerrilla style of marketing, it goes back a while really, the company has always done some crazy things to market their products. it comes as no surprise to me that this is a pepsi max commercial, and I’m pretty sure it’s aimed directly at the internet. the “09” on the windshield, is probably as someone already said, a lot number thing as the cars further down the line are numbered 10, 11, 12, and so on. the aftermarket cup holder installed on top of the center stack leads me to believe that the car was staged well before hand as I’ve never seen a brand new car with one of those in it. while the dealership might have known, I’m positive that the sales guy didn’t. some of the things that come out of his mouth lead me to think he’s been duped here. and the look on Gordon’s face when he pulls the mustache off as the Steve says he’s going to call the cops tells a story. according to everything I’ve read thus far, the stunt was staged by a division of will ferrel’s “funny or die” comedy company. and the actual stunt work was done by another driver, an employee of the richard petty driving experience. it was funny though.
Of course the sales guy new, think of the lawsuit that would follow had he not known. They are called actors, Russell Crowe wasn’t really a Gladiator in 200A.D.
This is a real commercial, sure, but everything about the ‘prank’ is fake.
Good point, Andrew. What a bummer to think that the only reason this isn’t real is the threat of lawsuits. Damn lawyers spoiling all the fun again! 😉 My suspended reality is once again, grounded. lol
Wait a sec, maybe Gordon did not know the saleman was an actor. That would explain his reaction to the Steve. While Steve was an actor, Gordon is clearly not. 🙂
fake fake fake
Awesome video.
Favorite moment: yell at 2:50
Least favorite moment: when he cuts off the other car
why does everybody always fined fault in everything people do. I think it was hilarious.
Cause Haters Gon Hate
People need to chill! Hahaha I think it was meant to be a daydream or something….but who cares?! It is a cool idea for a commercial & we are all talking about it right now so I guess it worked.How cool would it be if we coukd ride with a nascar driver just once!
You know it’s fake they didn’t even use a real race car driver – they used Jeffy Gordon.