If you spend a lot of time on the Internet, you’re no doubt familiar with Unexpected John Cena, the meme in which wrestler John Cena shows up in random video clips accompanied by a fanfare of trumpets. For a recent “prankvertisement,” Cricket Wireless decided to bring Unexpected John Cena to life. It enlisted the WWE champ for a video in which he surprises his fans by bursting through a wall like the Kool-Aid Man to greet them.
The video was shot in a Cricket store, where several John Cena aficionados showed up for what they thought would be an audition. While they showed their hosts how they would serve as an “ambassador” to Cena, the man of the hour stood behind a wall, where he offered up plenty of quips to the video’s producers and waited for his cue. Finally, after individual fans introduced him, he smashed through the flimsy wall, flanked by trumpeters on either side.
Subscribe to get the latest creator news
Translating Internet memes into the real world tends to be hit-or-miss, but it’s hard not to enjoy Cricket’s take on the genre. Cena’s fans are so overjoyed to see him, and he is so eager to greet him, that only the coldest viewers will make it through the video without cracking a smile. This is, without a doubt, branded content done right.
