Lara Croft: Tomb Raider opened on this day 25 years ago. For you youngsters, it might be hard to explain how huge the character was in the late 90s and early 2000s. Even if you weren’t allowed to play the games because your mom thought they were too violent and you wouldn’t dare to even ask her (not that I speak from experience or anything there), you still knew who she was as PlayStation succeeded in making her a mascot of sorts for the company. She was everywhere. There were many reasons for her popularity (although I can think of two in particular; look, the 2000s were horny, okay? Every day was Fortnite!), so when it was announced that Angelina Jolie was going to play her in a big budget movie, those tickets practically sold themselves. Tomb Raider opened to $47 million (which was a far larger figure in 2001) and would become the biggest video game flick ever at the time. Also, it had Daniel Craig in it before anyone had any clue who he was. And as far as I’m aware, it’s the lone film Jolie has done with her father–and if you don’t know this already, I apologize–Jon Voight.
Funnily enough, despite purists complaining about it not be faithful enough to the games, this remains the only adaptation of Tomb Raider to really be successful (at least financially). A sequel was fast-tracked into production for a summer 2003 release, but alas, The Cradle of Life didn’t have much life in it at the box office, ultimately getting sunk by a little movie called Pirates of the Caribbean. It took 15 years for Lara Croft to return to the big screen, in a largely “grounded” outing that didn’t really include any sci-fi elements, but even with a fantastic performance from Alicia Vikander, it didn’t bring many butts into theaters. There was also that animated Netflix series that no one appeared to care about, and there’s a live-action show in production starring Sansa Stark in what on paper sounds like a bizarre casting choice. For the time being, another theatrical adventure seems unlikely.
But let’s go back to 2001, when Lara-mania was high enough to ensure her first attempt at a blockbuster had a pretty big marketing campaign. This included a promotion with Taco Bell which sadly didn’t involve toys (don’t pretend you wouldn’t have wanted them!), but there was a contest where you could supposedly win a huge trip or a million dollars or far more likely some free nachos. The cups for this sweepstakes weren’t necessarily meant to be collectible, but since they were plastic I imagine many people kept them anyway as keepsakes. I don’t think I got one. If teenage me had gotten a cup with Angelina Jolie on it to bring home, I’d probably remember it.
Also, bring back the Grilled Stuffed Burrito, you cowards!
Actually I can’t recall if I did go to Taco Bell during this time, since knowing me I almost certainly would’ve made sure I got one of those cups without showing it to my mother (she was mad when I kept a Matrix Reloaded movie theater cup years later). But if I had gone during this promotion, I would’ve seen an employee wearing an exclusive Tomb Raider shirt complete with the Taco Bell logo on it, because yes, they really did used to give their workers special attire for these campaigns. Proper country and all that.

But if you wanted to get your Lara Croft fix without venturing into a Taco Bell as I’m sure Lara Croft does daily, you could grab a can of Pepsi. Or, more specifically, one of those cardboard boxes of Pepsi, since sadly it appears you couldn’t get soda cans with Angelina Jolie on them. But hey, you could still purchase Lara Croft’s box (get your mind out of the gutter!), so that’s cool.

This campaign really does work as a time capsule for the era, as the late 90s/early 2000s were maybe the only time Pepsi kind of sort of had the edge over Coke on a pop culture level. Remember those Phantom Menace Coke cans? Of course you don’t, because Pepsi had them! What about the singing Coke Girl? Of course not, because Pepsi had the little girl who was probably too young to be consuming too much caffeine selling their product (remember when she played Helen Keller? Or did I imagine that?)! Okay, but you must recall Coke Man, right? Nope, because Pepsi Man killed him! I forgot what I was even talking about here! I’m going to go grab a Pepsi One. Wait, what do you mean they don’t make them anymore? What do you mean I’m being denied that single glorious calorie? Modern times are just the worst! Also, does Lara place a can of Pepsi Wild Cherry in her gun holster here? I’m pretty sure that’s going to ruin your soda from shaking it too much.
Have the power today, y’all! Oh, wait, this isn’t another He-Man header. Well, have the power anyway!

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