InfoBundle: VW Passat – The Force

The Force

Super bowl 2011, one TV commercial stood out amongst the kaleidoscope of lavish and impressive ads. The story of a child in a Darth Vader costume trying to use his Jedi-like forces around the home. Only feeling success when his father uses the remote on the family’s VW Passat. The commercial succeeded in associating the product with the image of idealized family life and leaving a lasting impression. Sentimental without being corny, it utilized the sweetness of childhood, but kept the product and its features as a core element. The commercial helps raise the profile of a lesser know VW model by avoiding the same generic images as their competitors, it does impart the same values and leave the same positive family connotations.

Little Thor

The high profile of the commercial created buzz and lead to numerous parodies on youtube. Seeing a perfect fit to the Marvel movie the agency for Thor went a step further in introducing an imitation/look-a-like ad. A child in a Thor costume tries to use his force on the same objects as the Vader child. Finally, to the distress of his parents, his powers enable him to destroy the family car.

Unanswered Questions

Does the Little Thor ad benefit or reduce the effectiveness of the original The Force ad? Could there be further look-a-like ads?