Blake Lively features engineer from Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski trial in new ad for drink company

The engineer used a white board to examine Lively’s sparkling beverage in the commercial

Blake Lively has featured Dr Irving Scher, an engineer from Gwyneth Paltrow ski collision trial, as the star of her new Betty Buzz ad.

The commercial began with a clip of a gavel next to a glass of the company’s sparkling drink, before Scher, an “expert witness,” was introduced to examine the beverage.

Lively’s humorous ad came weeks after Scher wrote out several calculations and diagrams on a large board with a marker during Paltrow’s trial to explain her 2016 collision with retired optometrist Terry Sanderson. On 30 March, the Goop founder won the US lawsuit over the collision.

Throughout Lively’s commercial, Scher stood in front of a white board that showed stick figures drinking Betty Buzz and analysed what the drawings had to say about the brand’s different drink flavours.

“See when you look at a person drinking Betty Buzz Lemon Soda,” he said, as he pointed his marker towards the illustrations on the white board. “They have a smile on their face, and they think: ‘Wow, so bubbly!’ While another person drinks Sparkling Grapefruit and says out loud, ‘Mmm! Betty Buzz tastes great.’”

Scher, who’s listed as a “fizzicist,” in the ad, oncluded his remarks by praising the two flavoured drinks.

“And of course in both cases, the Betty Buzz goes down into their stomachs here,” he said, as he circled the centre of one of the stick drawings. “Which is consistent with the laws of physics and Newton’s Laws.”

Lively’s voice then chimed in: “Case closed, Betty Buzz is probably, scientifically the best sparkling beverage in the world.”

When Scher noted that he “didn’t necessarily say that,” Lively joked that he did and that he also said “case closed” before thanking him.

When Paltrow’s case went viral last month, Scher joined her at a courtroom in Utah to discuss her 2016 collision. Jurors found that the Oscar-winning actress was not at fault for the collision and she was awarded compensatory damages of one dollar.

Earlier this week, Lively shared another ad for Betty Buzz in which she paired the drink with husband Ryan Reynolds’ brand, Aviation Gin, in honour of National Gin and Tonic Day on 9 April. In the commercial, the gin and sparkling beverage were described as “a real Romeo and Juliet love story”.

The Gossip Girl star’s previous ads for her company, founded in 2021, included a commercial for Betty Buzz’s Ginger Beer on 12 February 2022 ahead of the Super Bowl. In the clip, she poured herself a drink with the mixer as Reynolds narrated.

“Pair it with rum. Pair it with tequila. Pair it with whiskey. Pair it with anything, especially your mouth,” he said, as Lively downed a glass of the ginger beer.

Speaking to People in February, she joked about why her ad aired during the Puppy Bowl instead of the Super Bowl.

“The Super Bowl is less about football and more about commercials with beer and Clydesdales,” she said. “We couldn’t afford the Super Bowl …or the Clydesdales… but we could afford the beer …sort of, ginger beer.”