[1] During its planning and filming stages, McCann Erickson, the advertising agency that created the commercial, used the working title "Mean Joe Greene".
The campaign's director was N. Lee Lacy, the art director was Roger Mosconi, the writer was Penny Hawkey, and the singers of the "Coke and a Smile" jingle were Jim Campbell, Don Thomas, Liz Corrigan, Shellie Littman, Arlene Martell, and Linda November.
The ad later received worldwide acclaim when it was re-filmed in various countries using local sports figures such as Diego Maradona, Niwat Srisawat and Zico.
In 2016 Joe reunited with Tommy Okon during a two-hour CBS special filmed at Apogee Stadium in Denton, Texas honoring Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials.
I don’t need to look down here anymore!” [8] A made-for-TV movie[9] that was loosely based on the commercial starring Greene and Henry Thomas instead of Tommy Okon as the kid aired on NBC on November 15, 1981, as part of the network's Project Peacock series which featured family-based specials and programming.