Smokey and the Bandit petroleum company Mobil 1 produced television commercials, featuring NASCAR star Tony Stewart, closely based on the film. Called "Smoke is the Bandit" playing on Stewart's nickname, the commercials featured him as the Bandit opposite Darrell Waltrip who played Snowman and Jeff Hammond as Buford T. Justice. The story replaced the Coors beer with Mobil 1 products. The adverts poked fun at the film and even featured a Pontiac Trans Am and a cover version of the song "East Bound and Down". The commercials were produced after Stewart mentioned that the movie was one of his favorites. When "Smokey and the
Sally Field a best dramatic actress Emmy Award in 1977 and enabled her to break through the typecasting of her sitcom work. In 1977, she co-starred with Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, and Jerry Reed in the year's #2 highest-grossing film, "Smokey and the Bandit". In 1979, Field played the eponymous union organizer in "Norma Rae", a successful film that established her as a dramatic actress. Vincent Canby, reviewing the film for "The New York Times", wrote: ""Norma Rae" is a seriously concerned contemporary drama, illuminated by some very good performances and one, Miss Field's, that is spectacular." For her role in "Norma