New Coke/NASCAR commercials: Coca-Cola’s newest NASCAR-themed TV commercial, entitled, “Race You,” offers a humorous glimpse into how competitive the drivers are off the track – even when it comes to doing yard work or taking out the trash. “Race You,” one of two new spots featuring Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers that will debut nationally on FOX during the Coca-Cola Racing Family 600 on May 26, opens with Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton in a fictional scene, depicting them as next-door neighbors. Standing on their driveways with full garbage cans in their hands, all it takes is a challenge by Labonte and the two are off and running, racing to drop their trash at the end of their driveways. The two continue to race in other routine, everyday situations, like mowing their lawns and grabbing the newspaper. The spot concludes when Dale Jarrett shows up and offers each an ice-cold Coke, igniting a final challenge. To reinforce Coca-Cola’s ongoing commitment to NASCAR families, the spot also features cameo appearances by some of the drivers’ family members. The second new Coca-Cola spot to debut during the Coca-Cola Racing Family 600, entitled “Sal Fooskoe,” makes a hero out of a real Coca-Cola delivery truck driver. In the lighthearted spot “Sal Fooskoe,” some of NASCAR’s top drivers – all members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family – are being interviewed about their favorite driver, and all choose Fooskoe, who apparently has earned legendary status behind the wheel. One-by-one the drivers, including Tony Stewart, Bill Elliott, Kyle Petty and Kevin Harvick, pay their respects to Fooskoe, who in the closing scene is humorously revealed to be a Coca-Cola delivery truck driver and not a Winston Cup racer. Adding to the uniqueness of the spot is the fact that the role of Fooskoe is played by Mike Cox, a real-life delivery truck driver for Coca-Cola Consolidated in Charlotte. Cox doesn’t have any lines in the spot, but he does appear in the closing scene, surrounded by the drivers and rewarded with pats on the back and an ice-cold Coca-Cola.(LMS PR)(5-25-2002)
