Ben Stiller Back as Derek Zoolander in Pepsi's Latest Super Bowl Ad

Ben Stiller Back as Derek Zoolander in Pepsi's Latest Super Bowl Ad

News by Roberto Orosa
Published: February 09, 2023

Ben Stiller reprised his role as the iconic Derek Zoolander in Pepsi’s new Super Bowl commercial, “Great Acting or Great Taste.”  

Posted in Pepsi’s official YouTube channel, the roughly one-minute ad encourages viewers to discover the “really good” taste of Pepsi Zero Sugar, while featuring Stiller’s acting prowess through a number of scenes.  

It starts off with the Hollywood actor fighting a humanoid alien.  

“Hi, I’m Ben Stiller. My job as an actor is making you believe that what you’re seeing is real,” he said as soon as he finished shooting the scene.  

Viewers are then treated to a montage of Stiller getting slapped in a dinner, freezing in a forest, talking to robots in space and pulling off his trademark Zoolander expression.  

“The pain is real,” “the cold is real,” “the friendship is real,” “real is real,” the actor explained each time. 

Stiller then talks to the viewers as himself, saying none of it is real – it’s all just acting. After, he takes a sip of his Pepsi Zero Sugar. 

“Wow, that’s like really good. Or was I just acting?” 

The commercial ends with the title card: ‘NEW IMPROVED TASTE.’ 

Fans of the popular comedy film that screened over two decades ago will be more than pleased with the new Pepsi commercial – it pays homage to a well-loved film and, at the same time,makes for good video marketing. However, Stiller told People that even if it’s ‘always fun’ to revisit the character, the chances of a third Zoolander installment happening are slim. 

“If there was a story that came up that was a great idea for movie, we might try to figure it out. But I thought actually him doing an ad for a product just really made sense, because that's what he does as a model, he sells things. He represents things and he glams things up,” the actor explained.  

“So, it felt very organic to do this spot, and it's kind of a fun way to do it without having to really worry about having to build a whole movie around him.” 

Watch the new Pepsi Super Bowl Commercial below:  

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