Red Bull - Zebra

For today's commercial, I'll be taking my first ever request: Red Bull's Zebra.

By now we all know the basic concept of Red Bull commercials: By drinking Red Bull, the consumer gains superhuman strength and abilities allowing him or her to perform an extraordinary feat.

So early on, we can kind of see what's going to happen here: The zebra is going to get the upper hand.  If that was the entire basis of the commercial, it would have been somewhat bland.

The commercial gives us an extra payoff at the end by showing that not only did the zebra win the fight, but that the alligator has been made into a purse

The big question that the commercial raises is whether or not the zebra's actions were intentional.  Was this a preconceived plot to gain a new handbag, or did the zebra simply stumble into a perilous situation, and ended up ahead thanks to the power of Red Bull?

When she puts on lipstick at the beginning of the commercial, I'm not sure if this is done to merely indicate that she is female (it would be weird to have a male zebra carry around a purse) or that she is a fashionable zebra.

If we are meant to see that the zebra is fashionable, then we have to assume that her encounter with the alligator was not accidental, but rather planned.  She knew that the alligator would attack, and thanks to the Red Bull she would be able to overpower it, and make it into a purse.

On the other hand, she might not have realized that the alligator was present, and their encounter was unintentional.  She might have just been planning to take a relaxing swim, not knowing that there was any danger.  Notice that she seems to let out a surprised gasp when the alligator had her by the neck.

Of course, it is possible that even if she did plan the encounter, she might have underestimated the ferocity of the alligator's attack.  I'd have to guess that the zebra had never fought an alligator before, and she didn't know exactly what to expect from him.

By the end, we see that regardless of how the encounter came about, an alligator is no match for a zebra on Red Bull.  Especially if she has her eye on a new purse.
Rating: 3.5 TVs - The payoff at the end makes this rise above the standard Red Bull commercial.  I gave it an extra half TV because it features a zebra, and I like zebras.