tommy okon
The ”kid,” Tommy Okon, now 29, decided to stay home in Westchester, N.Y., with his wife and baby daughter. [1]
Written by Penny Hawkey, produced by Jean-Claude Kaufman, with art direction by Roger Mosconi and direction by Lee Lacy, the commercial known as “Mean Joe Greene ” featured the defensive lineman of that nickname from the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football team and a twelve-year-old boy, Tommy Okon. [2]
That kid is Tommy Okon, a Queens native who is now in his 30s. [3]
The ad took over three days to film in May 1979, at the stadium in New Rochelle, New York, with Tommy Okon and Joe Greene taking a countless number of retakes and Joe Greene drinking eighteen 16-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola on the last day alone. [4]
As the kid who got a smile out of football tough guy Mean Joe Greene by giving him a Coke, Tommy Okon starred in one of TV’s most memorable commercials’and witnessed a few memorable belches. [5]
Description: This still image of “Mean Joe Greene” was captured from a Coca-Cola TV advertisement in 1979 which featured the defensive lineman “Mean” Joe Greene from the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football team and a twelve-year-old boy, Tommy Okon. [6]
Featuring the defensive lineman “Mean” Joe Greene from the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football team and a twelve-year-old boy, Tommy Okon. [7]
Another popular Coca-Cola Commercial was the “Mean Joe Greene” advertisement. [4]
”This is one of those rare commercials that everybody fondly remembers,” said Chuck Fruit, a Coca-Cola Co. vice president and director of media and marketing assets. [...] The World of Coca-Cola, the company’s tourist attraction in downtown Atlanta, will mark the 20th anniversary of the commercial Saturday with ceremonies featuring Greene, now an Arizona Cardinals assistant coach. [...] Probably the scene of a gruff, sweaty giant who guzzles a Coke and then, transformed, delights a young boy by tossing him his Pittsburgh Steelers game jersey. [1]
In Queens, for a girl who grew up playing handball at PS 189, across the street from her house, she spends her free time going to movies at the Whitestone Multiplex or just hanging out, being laid back. [3]
Get up-to-the-minute celebrity news and photos on your cellphone, iPhone or Blackberry at www.people.com! [5]
The sponsorship of this program and its advertising were both by the D’Arcy Agency of St. Louis. [...] Company was produced in conjunction with a television special featuring Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on Thanksgiving Day, 1950. [2]
Sources:
[1] OnlineAthens: News: Twenty years later, Coca-Cola commercial remains a …
[2] Coca-Cola Television Advertisements:The D’Arcy Era
[3] Queens Tribune
[4] Joe Greene
[5] Fizz Kid : People.com
[6] Image #19
[7] SodaStats | A “Refreshing” Way To Look At Soda!