Saturday, February 19, 2011

#3: Pint-Sized Darth Vader Uses Force on VW

Capturing the #3 spot in the USA Today Super Bowl poll is Volkswagen's Darth Vader spot.

Any commercial that starts with Star Wars music can't be all that bad. And this one doesn't disappoint.

Enter Darth Vader. The black-clothed arch-nemesis of the Jedi Knights and father to none other than Luke Skywalker. He carries the force with him as he hurriedly moves down the hall, black cape flying behind him.

He turns the corner and enters ... what? An exercise room in a house? And another surprise awaits ... he's not THE Darth Vader. This is some pint-sized Darth Vader wannabe.

He attempts to use the force on the exercise bike. On his dog. On the dryer. On a doll. On a sandwich his mom prepared. But, he has no power. The force is not within him.

He dejectedly holds his head in his hands. Then, his dog barks and he realizes that his dad has just driven in the driveway. He runs outside where dad expects a hug, but his son runs to the car instead. One last time, he tries the force on the car.

Watching from the kitchen window, dad uses his automatic engine starter to rev the car. The boy turns, shocked and in awe of his talents. At last, he has found the force within him and it worked!

Copy: "The all-new 2010 Passat. Coming soon. Starting around $20,000."

Sue's Grade: A-
This was one of my favorite Super Bowl ads. It was suspenseful, pulling you through the ad, frame by frame. It didn't hit people in the head, have dogs charging men, or bring floating goldfish back to life. It was humorous, entertaining, and interesting. The only reason for an A- is that it didn't register the brand name as well as it could have.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Sue Northey - Find me on Bloggers.com