Marshawn Lynch Goes ‘Speech Mode’ In New Pepsi Commercial [Video]
Marshawn Lynch is a man of few words, which might seem to make the powerful running back a strange choice for Pepsi’s newest spokesman. In fact, Marshawn manages to get through his first Pepsi commercial without saying a word–until the very end.
If you aren’t sure how that works, check out the commercial for yourself. It’s worth the watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzTCPx_fsPs
Now, it almost goes without saying that Marshawn Lynch is the kind of athlete who likes to let his work on the field speak for itself. He is, in his own words, “All about that action, boss.”
And that signature phrase, in fact, is the only thing Lynch actually has to say in the whole commercial.
The commercial is basically a jab at the debacle from last year, where Marshawn refused to talk to the press. Since it’s written right into each NFL player’s contract that they have to make themselves available to the press, Lynch faced some pretty hefty fines.
Marshawn’s solution, at the time, was to show up, make himself available, and then fire off a pre-selected string of non sequiturs. The entire fiasco was hilarious for the fans, infuriating for the press, and embarrassing for the NFL.
In one awkward session, he answered every question with an affirmative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyUwanb_Cz8
Then, at one point, he was very thankful for the questions, but that was about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7o0qw2930s
When the Seahawks made it to the Superbowl, Lynch showed up at Media Day with the rest of the team. But he was just “here so I won’t get fined, boss.”
So far this year, Lynch has showed up and made himself available, but the media seems to have gotten its fill of non-answers from the star running back.
Pepsi seems more than happy to cash in on the situation, and Marshawn has proven in the past that he’s a sucker for endorsement deals that involve humorous commercials.
In his new Pepsi commercial, which you can view above (and you should, if you’ve gotten this far without checking it out), Lynch plays off his man-of-few-words mystique.
The commercial begins with a tight shot of Lynch, and he explains how Pepsi approached him to be their new spokesman, but he was hesitant, as he doesn’t like to talk.
Only it isn’t Marshawn talking. His lips are moving, but the voice is pitched much higher than we remember from Lynch’s previous interviews.
USA Today reports that the voice belongs to comedian Andree Vermeulen.
As the camera pans out, we see Vermeulen sitting in the locker room with Marshawn. “Glug, glug, glug,” she says, as Lynch tips back his Pepsi.
As the Pepsi commercial closes, Marshawn kicks back and speaks his only actual line.
“Speech mode, boss.”
Of course, this isn’t Marshawn’s first hilarious commercial. A few years back, a local Seattle plumbing company approached Lynch to do a spot.
Unlike his Pepsi commercial, Marshawn Lynch actually delivers all his own lines in this one.
[Screenshot via YouTube]
