• February 20, 2013

Kraft Foods Group's Grey Poupon is updating its classic "Pardon Me" commercial in a new spot to air during this year's Academy Awards on Feb. 24.

The original 1981 ad -- showing an encounter between two distinguished gents with British accents being chauffeured in their  Bentleys, with one asking the other, "Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?" -- became a pop-culture touchpoint and elevated the brand's image "beyond a common condiment," brand manager Nadine Rich noted to ABC News.

Even today, teenagers are familiar with the "general spirit" of the ad -- although Grey Poupon is "not as relevant as it was," Sara Braun, who leads the Grey Poupon, Miracle Whip and Mayo brands at Kraft told AP (which reports that the brand's share of market fell from 13.7% in 2003 to 11.4% in 2012, per Euromonitor data). 

The new 30-second spot from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, dubbed "The Chase," picks up where the original ad left off: The "borrower"'s car speeds off without returning the mustard, setting off a wild car chase.

The Oscars spot, directed by Bryan Buckley (creator of dozens of Super Bowl ads), is being used as a teaser to drive consumers to view the full video, positioned as "the lost footage" from 1981's spot, on GreyPoupon.com. Visitors will also be able to interact with the ad, and earn chances to win various luxury prizes, including caviar, champagne, according to reports.

The site is currently counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the big "reveal" of the full lost footage.