Arnold Schwarzenegger hams it up as a throwback pingpong player in Bud Lite’s Super Bowl ad, but sources tell us the Governator was not so smooth at swinging the paddle.
One says, “Ahh-nuld plays a pingpong player who challenges a guy who is on a fantasy night out,” but, “They kept having to do re-takes as Arnold wasn’t very good at pingpong. He swings and he misses. He’s clearly better at barbells.”
The beer company has started releasing teasers that show Schwarzenegger limbering up and taking swings in a blond wig, a ’70s-style athletic suit and matching Björn Borg-style elastic headband.
We’re told the full commercial could run as long as two minutes during the Super Bowl, making it one of the most expensive ads ever. It costs $4 million for a 30-second slot on Fox Sports during the Feb. 2 game.
Shot over two 16-hour days, and directed by “Jackass” producer Jeff Tremaine, it features a wild club that was created on the sixth floor of 4 World Trade Center.
The storyline starts with a Hummer stretch limo picking up an unsuspecting dude in the Meatpacking District as part of the campaign slogan, “The Perfect Beer for Whatever Happens.”
The guy is then taken on a wild journey where he meets Schwarzenegger as well as stars Don Cheadle (who has a llama on a leash in an elevator), DJ Reggie Watts, and also Derek Jeter ex Minka Kelly, who plays a hot girl who propositions the guy at the party.
One room in the club features all twins — including, we’re told, Daniel and Derek Koch, the brothers behind the boozy Day & Night brunches.
The twins will celebrate the ad with a Super Bowl party at new restaurant Tender at the Sanctuary Hotel on Feb 2.
The ad ends with the guy defeating Schwarzenegger at pingpong, before the “Terminator” star booms, “Where do you think you are going?” and leads him into a wild party room, where the Governator, who got a $3 million deal for the spot, flexes his famous muscles.