Efren Ramirez, better known to us as Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite, appears in a new series of ads for Sierra Mist’s “Refresh Your Mind” campaign. The format: he walks into a bar, tells a story, concludes, “It’s a crazy world; it helps to refresh your mind,” and downs some Sierra Mist.
The first spot, “Wedding Girl,” is about a girl so desperate to get married she’ll put bridesmaids in a coma to catch a bouquet. (Honey, there are easier routes than superstition. Speed dating, for example.)
The problem with “Refresh Your Mind” is this: after Pedro Efren spins his yarn and sips his soda, it isn’t really clear how Sierra Mist puts this crazy world back in perspective.
Does it even need putting in perspective? A story like “Wedding Girl” brings an aggressive new angle to an archetype we’re familiar with: the girl who wants to be married so badly, she’ll invest her hopes in someone else’s bouquet. In a way, any twist on that old story is refreshing.
Just not refreshing enough. The campaign would make more sense if Wedding Girl herself had a swig of Sierra Mist, refreshed her mind and decided, fuck this, a ring isn’t worth getting crazy over.
