Entertainment

Watch Carrie Bradshaw & The Dude Meet In This Seriously Nostalgic Super Bowl Ad

by Parry Ernsberger

It's hard to imagine a universe where Carrie Bradshaw and the Dude would cross paths, as the characters have like, absolutely nothing in common. Well, until now. Apparently, these days, the duo both love beer — at least according to Sarah Jessica Parker and Jeff Bridges' Super Bowl ad for Stella Artois.

Yes, you read that correctly. Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City and the Dude from The Big Lebowski are both beer drinkers now. Gone are the Cosmopolitans and White Russians, respectively. They'll both take a Stella Artois these days.

The ad, which'll air during the game on Feb. 3, opens with Parker — aptly dressed as Bradshaw in a pillbox hat, rose gold and silver dress, and super sparkly sequined cardigan — strolling into a fancy restaurant. As the maître d' greets her with familiarity, a string duo and pianist plays the theme song to Sex and the City in the background.

"Cosmopolitan?" the maître d' asks Bradshaw as he politely pulls out her chair. "Nope, I'll have a Stella Artois," she says, at which point the music screeches to a halt and mouths drop open in shock.

One waiter drops his tray and shatters several glasses. Another server — already on the way to Bradshaw's table with a Cosmopolitan in-hand — spins around and drops her tray, too. She bumps into a third waiter, sending them both crashing down onto the floor, as an overhead light dramatically sparks out. Everything in the kitchen goes up into flames. It's as if the world's natural order has been completely disrupted by Bradshaw's drink request.

After Bradshaw is then served a Stella, the Sex and the City theme song comes to an end and another familiar song begins. This time, it's "The Man In Me" by Bob Dylan, which gained notoriety in the opening credits of The Big Lebowski.

In walks Jeff Bridges, fully dressed as the Dude himself in sunglasses, a cozy coatigan, and relaxed linen pants. "Wild night, huh?" he says to the bartender after glancing at the broken plates on the floor. "White Russian?" the bartender asks, expecting the Dude's drink of choice. "No, Gary, give me a Stella Ar-toes," he replies, mispronouncing the brand's name in true Dude form. Yup, that happens.

When the Dude sits down at a table directly next to Bradshaw's, she pokes him on the arm and says, "Excuse me. Good choice," in reference to the beer. "Well, changing can do a little good," he says. "The dude abides." And thus the commercial comes to a close.

Stella Artois teased Parker's involvement as Bradshaw in a short promo clip last week. Bridges shared a clip of himself as the Dude, too, but neglected to reference the brand, leading some people to think that his being in character meant that a Big Lebowski sequel might be in the works. But alas, it was all for the sake of an ad campaign.

The commercial is pretty silly, but it definitely stirs up some serious nostalgia. It also serves to raise awareness of the #PourItForward campaign, according to TODAY, which is a charitable partnership between Stella Artois and Water.org. You can read more about that initiative here, and you can catch the ad featuring Parker and Bridges airing live during this year's Super Bowl.