Grey Poupon to air new version of famous Rolls-Royce ad, this time with car chase [w/video]

Wed, 20 Feb 2013

Grey Poupon mustard will revive the concept behind its famous Pardon Me commercials with a new ad that will air only once on television during this Sunday's broadcast of the Academy Awards.

The original spot, which showed two one-percenters sharing the condiment between their Rolls-Royces at an intersection, first aired all the way back in 1981, and variations of it continued up through 1997. Kraft, owner of the Grey Poupon brand, is hoping that reviving the commercial will boost sagging sales and raise the mustard's profile with a younger generation of fancy folk.

So why are we talking about this on Autoblog? Because the new version of the ad won't end with a polite passing of the bottle. Rather, we're told a car chase ensues when the Grey Poupon's owner doesn't get it back. We're assuming the two cars in question will again be a pair of Rolls-Royce sedans, probably Phantoms unless they go with more vintage model years.

This should be an ad worthy of a potty break during January's big NFL game, as a 30-second spot during the Oscars is estimated to cost $1.7 million and the director they got has upwards of 40 Super Bowl commercials under his belt. Scroll down to watch the original ad, and we'll bring you the new one as soon as it airs during the Oscars and becomes available online.

By John Neff