The Mean Joe Greene Coca-Cola Commercial-Have A Coke and A Smile

The Mean Joe Greene commercial released on October 1, 1979, became one of the most famous Coke commercials, captivating audiences almost as much as the "Hilltop" commercial eight years earlier. Written by Penny Hawkey, produced by Jean-Claude Kaufman, with art direction by Roger Mosconi and direction by Lee Lacy, the commercial known as "Mean Joe Greene" featured the defensive lineman of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a twelve-year-old boy, Tommy Okon.

The casting of this ad was integral to its success. While The Coca-Cola Company had suggested Roger Staubach, the popular quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, McCann opted to use the "Mean" looking Steeler player instead. The ad was filmed over three days in May 1979 at a stadium in New Rochelle, New York, with Joe Greene and Tommy Okon performing countless retakes and Greene consuming eighteen 16-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola the final day alone.
The ad proved to be immensely popular, sparking a surge of letters to The Coca-Cola Company. It won the 1979 CLIO award in the world's largest advertising awards competition, and Greene took home the award for best actor in the same contest. The Coca-Cola Company followed up with a promotion to "win the shirt off my back," distributing thousands of replica jerseys to winning entrants. It also adapted the ad's concept to other parts of the world: Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand all produced versions of the commercial following the same plot line but featuring renowned football (soccer) players from each country, such as national soccer champion Niwat in Thailand.
"Mean Joe Greene" concluded its life as a made-for-TV movie that aired on NBC-TV on November 8, 1981. Joe Greene starred in the movie, but the part of the young boy was played by Henry Thomas, who later went on to star in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The movie recreated the ad and told the story of what happened after the ad ended.