The last time Aubrey Plaza and her “Parks and Recreation” co-star Nick Offerman saw each other before shooting their Mountain Dew Super Bowl commercial was on the picket line during the SAG-AFTRA strikes. So, when they arrived on set to shoot the high-ticket ad, which sees the pair riding fire-breathing dragons while sipping the brand’s new Baja Blast-flavored beverage, they were more ready than ever to slip back into their deadpan personas.
“I was dying. I was like, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!'” Plaza says over a Zoom call a week before the commercial’s Super Bowl premiere. “It was so fun because I love Nick so much and even though we’re not playing our characters in ‘Parks and Rec’, it does feel in some way like a little April and Ron reunion and I feel like in some alternate universe, this is exactly what they would be doing. So it all made sense to me.”
The commercial, which will broadcast on CBS during Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, Feb. 11, highlights Plaza and Offerman’s laconic humor to celebrate the addition of Baja Blast to Mountain Dew’s flavor lineup. Throughout the 30-second spot, Plaza is seen “having a blast” through a series of unfortunate events: stuck in an elevator, getting hit in the head with pull toys by a bunch of kids at a pool party and being pummeled in a boxing ring.
Of course, Plaza and Offerman’s rare reunion begs the question of a much-asked-about “Parks and Recreation” revival.
“You know, there could be like a ‘Parks and Rec’-‘Game of Thrones’ mash-up here, where April and Ron time travel into ‘Game of Thrones’ times and then we’re just riding those dragons around,” Plaza jokes. “I don’t know, I’m just spitballing here.”
While Plaza isn’t sure yet of her Super Bowl plans (she grew up in Delaware, so she’s a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan), some of her fondest memories of the Big Game day include star-studded watch parties put on by her friend and fellow comedian Nick Kroll.
“Nick used to have a really good Super Bowl watching party with like all the funniest people,” Plaza recounts. “That was always my favorite part [of the Super Bowl] because you’re just sitting around with Jason Mantzoukas and Rob Huebel and Amy Poehler and all these people, and you just get to hear everybody’s jokes about all the commercials and everything that’s going on.”
Plaza’s Mountain Dew Super Bowl ad will release on Youtube at 12 p.m. ET on Feb. 6. Super Bowl LVIII will stream live on Paramount+ on Feb. 11.
