Jeff Gordon’s Pepsi Prank Video Goes Viral

by UInterviewMarch 14, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

Jeff Gordon, professional stock-car racer, starred in a Pepsi YouTube video in which he goes under disguise to test drive a car (like a stuntman) with the unwitting salesman by his side.

For the video, Gordon donned makeup and extra facial hair to make him look older and nearly unrecognizable. As “Mike,” he opts to test drive a black Camaro sitting in a dealership. After placing his Pepsi can in the holder, he takes the salesman on a wild wide through vacated parking lots. Stricken, the salesman shouts expletives and urges Gordon to return them to the dealership. When they arrive back, the distressed car salesman is about to call the cops, before Gordon begins pealing off his fake beard and admits it was all a prank.

But, was it really all a prank? The jury is out. Regardless, Gordon’s video has become a YouTube sensation for Pepsi, racking up over 7 million views. Twitter and message boards alike indicate that people don’t particularly care if it was real or fake; either way it’s funny.

Pepsi took a similar approach to advertising the brand with basketball star Kyrie Irving’s ‘Uncle Drew’ video. “Uncle Drew,” which was written, directed and acted in by Irving, featured the Cleveland Cavaliers star in heavy makeup and gray hair playing in a pickup game with a bunch of young guys – and crushing it on the court. His video has over 20 million views on YouTube.