Month: March 2025

It’s one of the most iconic moments in Super Bowl advertising history. Supermodel Cindy Crawford pulls up to the Halfway House Cafe in a red Lamborghini Diablo, wearing a white tank top and jean shorts. We’re somewhere in the California desert. She’s sweaty and hot. Two young boys watch in awe as she buys a Pepsi from a vending machine and gulps it down. The 1992 Super Bowl commercial became an instant classic, launching Crawford into the fantasies of men around the world. Nearly three decades later, legendary photographer David Yarrow decided to recreate the famous ad—but with a wild twist. “For some time, I had yearned to do my own interpretation of the advert with a still photograph,” the Scottish-born Yarrow explains. “I secured Cindy’s involvement, who in turn secured Pepsi’s approval—given the implicit tribute, why would Pepsi say ‘no’?”

The result, shot in 2021 at the same Halfway House Cafe location, captures Crawford still looking gorgeous in an almost identical outfit. Instead of wide-eyed boys, she’s joined by two wolves (that are actually domesticated Tamaskan dogs) who salivate from the back seat of a vintage red convertible. Even Peter Savic, the legendary hairstylist from the original commercial, returned to style Crawford’s hair. The image has since raised over $2 million for charity.

A Match Made In Heaven

Since 2018, Crawford and Yarrow have teamed up on several cinematic projects, with all of the proceeds going toward philanthropic causes. Collectively, they’ve raised over six million dollars for the American Family Children’s Hospital. “Each shoot has been thoughtful and unique,” Crawford wrote in the forward to Yarrow’s book, Storytelling. “David doesn’t call until he’s personally excited about his next idea for me. He makes it such a pleasant and fun experience that it’s always easy to say yes.” We’re glad she does. Some of the best shoots recreate famous moments in American pop culture, like the crop-duster chase scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. In that image, featured on this issue’s cover, Crawford took the Cary Grant role, posing in a rare 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Vignale Spyder while a plane swoops down low behind her. “The premise was to style the set as if we were indeed in the late 1950s, and we recognized that we had a strong backdrop, as Roy’s Cafe is one of the treasure trove authentic landmarks of Route 66,” Yarrow explained. The shoot required a bit of stunt work, but it was nothing veteran pilot Greg Caldwell couldn’t handle. “There didn’t seem much to trouble Greg—not even his plane’s aerial proximity to a $10 million Ferrari or, more importantly, one of the world’s most identifiable and revered women,” Yarrow said.

Parallel Paths

In some ways, Crawford and Yarrow were destined to work together. Both built massive careers by defying expectations. Crawford, who graduated valedictorian from DeKalb High School in 1984, initially pursued chemical engineering at Northwestern University before becoming a model. Her timing couldn’t have been better. She came of age in the era of the supermodel, when catwalk queens could command $10,000 a day to appear on runways or billboards. Crawford’s athletic build, all-American appeal, and signature mole above her lip helped her stand out. She went on to grace over 500 magazine covers, including the December 2005 cover of Maxim—she was also honored with an appearance on our Hot 100 the following year. Crawford walked runways for Chanel, Versace, and Calvin Klein, and became a face for major brands like Revlon, Omega, and, of course, Pepsi. Beyond modeling, she built a business empire that includes skincare lines and furniture collections. “Cindy Crawford is a wonderful woman; fame has just made her even more special,” Yarrow said. “She is the most successful model of all time for good reason.”

Yarrow’s journey was also unconventional. After snapping a famous photo of soccer star Diego Maradona at the 1986 World Cup Final for The London Times, he took a decades-long detour into finance, making millions with a successful hedge fund. But in 2014, he returned to his first love—photography—and began creating images of wildlife and narrative storytelling. He is now considered one of the bestselling photographers in the world. Even though their careers both soared, Crawford and Yarrow have always stayed grounded by giving back. When she was just 10 years old, Crawford lost her younger brother, Jeff, to leukemia. The tragedy drove her to make childhood leukemia a focal point of her charity work. Yarrow’s photography has raised more than $15 million for charitable causes worldwide, including pediatric cancer care and wildlife conversation.

Recreating Movie Magic

Their shared commitment to philanthropy made them natural collaborators, but it’s their creative vision that makes the magic happen. In another one of Yarrow’s striking images, titled “The Daily News,” Crawford plays a 1950s movie star being stalked by paparazzi. The shot features a cameo of Dimitri Dimitrov, Hollywood’s most famous Maître D’, as a press photographer. It also features another snarling Tamaskan dog. Explains Yarrow, “Since the press tends to hang as a pack, I could play on that and throw in a wolf.” For Crawford, who turned 59 in February, reviving her modeling career has been a lot of fun. “Modeling is about illusion. It’s a fantasy world where models play various roles,” she once said. From drinking Pepsi in the California desert to dodging planes on Route 66, Crawford has turned that fantasy into real-world impact.