Volkswagen’s Darth Vader Super Bowl commercial already has 5.6 million views
Feb 4, 2011, 12:16 PM EDT
Many question the wisdom of releasing Super Bowl commercials before the game, to which Volkswagen replies, “I find your lack of faith disturbing.”
The highest-rated ad for Super Bowl XLV is likely to be one that debuted on YouTube five days before the game (as seen on this blog on Wednesday). Volkswagen’s The Force, in which a boy dressed as Darth Vader tries to use the Dark Side to manipulate items throughout his house, has already topped 5 million views on the Internet, giving it a huge head start in the annual race for Super Bowl commercial attention. From CNBC:
Now, with a new plant close to opening in Tennessee, VW is once again getting serious about building cars and SUV’s Americans want.
There is also greater focus on staying engaged with the American car buyer, something VW has struggled to do. Which is interesting because VW has a strong track record of putting out memorable ads in the U.S. Unfortunately, the ads have been more memorable than VW’s product line.
Perhaps that will now change, thanks to “The Force.”
But let’s not lose track of the fact that it was a daring move by VW to release the commercial early. If it failed, it would have failed spectacularly … perhaps VW had a backup ready to go?
As for my opinion on why the ad works, it was brilliantly acted and edited, and hit all the right notes. Many times a clever ad will leave the viewer forgetting the product involved, but this one doesn’t. It also has a definite Calvin & Hobbes vibe; it doesn’t take much of a leap to imagine Calvin in that costume. I also had to watch it a second time to confirm that there wasn’t a line of dialogue in the entire thing.
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VW Uses ‘The Force’ to Score Super Bowl Winner [CNBC]
The best Super Bowl commercial preview so far [Off the Bench]
