I’ve been doing my best to avoid talking about the Steelers and the Super Bowl, but my friend sent me this link of the best Super Bowl ad that will show this week-end:
It’s pretty cute.
by John Cole| 80 Comments
This post is in: Excellent Links
I’ve been doing my best to avoid talking about the Steelers and the Super Bowl, but my friend sent me this link of the best Super Bowl ad that will show this week-end:
It’s pretty cute.
Comments are closed.
LarsThorwald
I have two boys, seven and five, and they were huge into Star Wars until about 6 months ago. And this ad made me melt, and be nostalgic, and smile, and want to go home and play with my kids.
Good ad.
srv
Please join the Nutella class action suit.
It’s good for American lawyers.
Linda Featheringill
Cute commercial!
freelancer
Kid’s Dad is Mr. Stevens, Head of Catering.
PurpleGirl
Ah, I watched a YouTube of something called “Madonna of the Wasps.” It didn’t look or sound like an ad and it wasn’t about anything Star Wars. Did you change the link?
Dan
@LarsThorwald: Ummm, what happened 6 months ago?
MikeJ
@PurpleGirl: You got a Robyn Hitchcock song and we got stuck with a commercial? I feel ripped off.
EddieInCA
Awesome!
So much Awesome!
Mark S.
@Dan:
They finally saw Attack of the Clones.
Cris
I would have stuck my head in a urinal to have a Darth Vader costume like that in 1977.
Cris
@srv: Can I retroactively become party to the class-action suit if I agree to eat Nutella for breakfast every day for a month?
piratedan
well the people at Volkswagon obviously get it, first the Jetta ads:
http://creativity-online.com/work/volkswagen-moonlighting/21509
and then the “shoot the gap” ads (which I found funny, but were pulled for reckless driving concerns) and now this.
Its always a pleasant surprise when ads entertain while promoting or informing consumers about their product.
Dave
Best. Ad. Ever. I was that kid back in 77…
birthmarker
In honor of all you do for us, Cole, I will pull for the Steelers on Sunday. (I don’t follow pro ball usually.)
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
I barked, I laughed so loud.
I love the moments in which Dejected Darth Vader is dejected. That kid deserves a ding-dang Oscar, he does.
PurpleGirl
@MikeJ: Okay, but I’m feeling disappointed. I want to see a Star Wars themed ad.
PurpleGirl
I clicked on it again and got the ad. It was cute. Having attended many Star Trek conventions, I know that little kid and the parent who tries to make something seem real.
Tsulagi
In one pool I’m in got the over/under number of 49. Here’s hoping Rodgers lights it up. Sorry.
Stav
Sorry skipped every Star Wars after #1. What is this about? Not to be cynical, but what a waste of a minute, adds zero value to VW brand.
Cris
@birthmarker: I’m conflicted. I’d pull for the Steelers because of John Cole and because of my third grade teacher who was in love with Terry Bradshaw, but on the other hand I’m watching the game at my pal’s house, and he’s a Browns fan.
Violet
Such a cute ad. Kid deserves an Oscar.
@Stav:
It’s about family and the ad appeals to parents. See all the “Awww…reminds me of my kids” comments above. Apparently the new Passat is a good car for someone with a family.
JWL
Maybe. But is it $3 million cute?
PurpleGirl
VW apparently thought it would be worth the money to buy the ad time. NFL charges it but the companies don’t have to buy the ad time if they don’t want to.
THE
Best car ad ever, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG gullwing in the tunnel. Is it real?
Restrung
as a Jetta driver, I say fine. But fuck the new Jettas.
Big assed cars look stupid with their big butts. I might just go Mazda. Or Golf. hmm
Cris
Spending much of my life working in small businesses, it’s really hard for me to understand the value of million-dollar advertising for trillion-dollar companies. In a mom-and-pop, you really choose your ad buys carefully and you try to find ways to track effectiveness (coupons, “mention this ad when you come in…”). I suspect it’s qualitatively different for Coca-Cola or Mercedes Benz. For a company of that size, you invest huge amounts to maintain your near-subconscious level of consumer brand awareness. You can track broad patterns of user response against ad campaigns (and you have access to huge collections of data) but there’s really no cause-and-effect, no “this ad resulted in this many sales.”
nestor
I can’t wait for the Super Bowl.
I think Bud Light has a good chance this year.
Restrung
I woulda… ehm. Where can I get one of those costumes?!?!
Linkmeister
@Cris: I’m watching with the same group I’ve watched with for twenty years. The only professed allegiance by most of us is the 49ers, so recently we’ve been pulling for a) a good close game and b) (because one of us runs his own ad agency) great commercials.
Linkmeister
@Cris: There’s a prestige value to advertising during the Super Bowl, according to my agency friend.
cathyx
Which should I make for dinner on Superbowl Sunday, chili or babyback ribs?
Warren Terra
@cathyx:
Why make it an either-or?
In the words of the late lamented Molly Ivins:
I forget the context, but it seems to apply to food-and-the-superbowl.
Cris
@cathyx: inclusive or.
cathyx
I don’t want to spend so much time cooking, and I can’t decide which one to make. For me, cooking=work, even though I do it and I’m good at it, I don’t love doing it.
eemom
ferfuckSAKE. First The Captain and Tenille and now The Force Be With You?
WTF are y’all trying to do, force me to relive my entire teenagerhood?
Cris
@cathyx: Chili, then. The work is more front-loaded, and then you can let it simmer while people serve themselves.
General Stuck
@eemom:
I never could wrap my head around Muskrat Love.
cathyx
@Cris: Chili probably would be a better choice, especially for eating in front of the TV.
Corner Stone
@Stav: If Ted Stevens was right and there existed a way for me to crawl through these tubes and cock slap you I would.
Pococurante
My eight year old “eeevil jedi” son approves.
I’m disappointed that someone somewhere else on the internet is not exposing the vile rebel scum who are oppressing Volkswagen commercials.
If only there was some one, some DougJ, who could expose their hypocrisy.
Big City Mary
Wonderful, I love the advertisers competition more than the football (can hardly tolerate almost middle age men playing sports for a job-too wierd, although love college and high school sports-always tear up passing the lights of a football Friday night high school game-brings back so many good memories, the noise, the smells, the expectations-I digress)but I will send forth good vibes toward the Steelers, but only becuase the Eagles aren’t there!
Chyron HR
@Stav:
It’s understandable that you wouldn’t recognize such an obscure character from the franchise, then.
Stillwater
@Pococurante: If only there was some one, some DougJ, who could expose their hypocrisy.
It starts this way, then moves to regard for teh funny, yeah?, and ends with respeck f’da skillz. Grasshopping.
Stillwater
@Corner Stone: Corner, why the long lay off? I noticed that Tunisia fell and Egypt crumbled while you were gone. Coincidence?
Blackfrancis
@MikeJ: and the rest of you who may feel ripped off
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1z4IJc9fNk
Blackfrancis
@Dave: I am that kid today. I am about to turn 42. I posted this to my facebook feed last night, and did not realize until the next morning that I was wearing this t-shirt
http://www.zazzle.com/darth_vader_worlds_best_dad_tshirt-235021701910193204
The best part is that it was a gift from my daughter.
trollhattan
Love the ad; don’t care to dissect it or the Wonderful World of Advertising. CC shots in Don’s office!
At Sully’s, young Conor has found a gem from Boxwine Betty. How does anybody endure a semester listening to this nincompoop?
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/02/quot.html
Blackfrancis
@Chyron HR: Snorted loudly.
Cacti
@cathyx:
Go with chili. You can crockpot it overnight and just warm it up on game day.
bkny
@Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther: darth is likely a girl
Cody_k
I think this is the other one planned for SuperBowl Sunday…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ulbjaKmKG0
Black Beetle
Yuppers
@Chyron HR: I second Blackfrancis’s loud snort.
Elizabelle
@bkny:
Loved the commercial, and VW was savvy to give no clues about Darth’s gender.
After the fact, maybe BJ can highlight the best Super Bowl commercials?
My favorite is still that Monster.com spot from several years back. (Jeez, it’s 1999!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJB0CzlzSwY
“When I grow up … I wanna file all day … I wanna have a brown nose.”
Blackfrancis
@trollhattan: May I suggest Bose QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones
http://www.amazon.com/Bose-QuietComfort-Acoustic-Noise-Cancelling/dp/B00021Y9OA
The price is worth it.
Cat Lady
@General Stuck:
Rand Paul sure could. He’s stapled one on his head.
Elizabelle
@Cat Lady:
That’s good. Will never look at him the same again.
bkny
@Elizabelle: there’s alot of commentary at gawker and many point to the pink bedroom. regardless, that commercial is just a treat. i’ve watched it half a dozen times..
debit
@bkny: Could be the sister’s room.
bkny
@debit: yeah, but i prefer to think darth is a girl.
this ad has nearly 1.8 millions views so far..
speaking of girl star wars fans. this was a story a few weeks back about a geeky girl star wars fan who was told ‘girls don’t do star wars’ and the resulting fallout:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20101210/ts_yblog_thelookout/internet-rallies-behind-bullied-star-wars-girl
TaMara (BHF)
@Cacti: Crockpot is a good idea. You may need to spice it up before serving. For some reason next day it is always better, but not as spicy.
TaMara (BHF)
@Cody_k: Thank you.
Cliff
@TaMara (BHF):
If ya don’t have a crockpot you can use the oven set at the appropriate temp. (I use 160 for 8 hour plus stuff)
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
On the first weekend of February the whole country throws a party for me to do my taxes by playing a football game. I love it.
Corner Stone
@Stillwater: Shhh…working towards the trifecta baby.
This site has been boring the absolute fuck out of me. I can barely stand to skim it a couple times a week.
It used to be a rollicking good back and forth but it’s been taken over by a bunch of humorless fucks who exist to suck the life out of cheap entertainment seekers such as myself.
So I’ve been reading my bible and making amends with those I’ve wronged.
jhaygood
so i’m generally a lurker here, but a daily one. and just thought i’d throw out that i edited that VW spot. and also another for the beetle that’ll be on the super bowl too. one bit of truth in advertising, it’ll be the :30 version of darth that airs on sunday. this :60 is way better…
cheers! back to lurking…
Corner Stone
@jhaygood: I, for one, fucking loved it.
My 6 yr old loves Darth, and was DV for Halloween in a closely similar costume. He rocked it. And he went round using the “force” on just about everything.
shecky
@ trollhattan: I saw that link earlier on bloggingheads. Althouse is truly all kinds of fuckhead. That kind of dishonesty just boggles the mind.
Darkrose
@jhaygood: Awesome ad!
I’m 40, and I still am occasionally disappointed when the Force doesn’t work, so I could totally relate.
Ron
I saw that commercial earlier on my facebook newsfeed. Our 4 year old loved it. (He’s also told us he wants a Darth Vader birthday cake and wants to be Darth Vader for Halloween. Where the hell am I gonna find a Darth Vader birthday cake?)
ruemara
@bkny:
Girls don’t do Star Wars? What an odd concept. I’ve been doing anything Sci-Fi, action or Anime related for nearly 40 years. Glad to see the netizens of geekdom rally around her like that.
@jhaygood:
Not to nitpick, because the commercial is all kinds of awesome, but I’m heartened to hear there’s a :30 version. It just seemed ideal for :45 but who sells those spots. Congrats on the work!
birthmarker
@Ron: 4 year olds aren’t that hard to please. You can probably get a black mask and prop it in the corner of the cake. OT, but a big ole 18 year old told me once his best birthday memories were that his mom always let him decorate his own cake. After that I would get a few cake toppers and sprinkles, etc., and let my kids decorate their cakes themselves. Enjoy–it goes really fast….
Hawes
Girls do Star Wars, but boys do Darth Vader. My kids love Vader, which is kinda creepy, but totally in character for the oldest.
That’s a great ad, but, as someone noted, what does it do for VW?
Corner Stone
Sigh. This site continues to be populated by people with no imagination, or humor.
Why don’t you mirthless fucks go join the closest Agnostics Society, or Tools of the 18th Century Society or something?
The rest of us are going to identify with how awesome the moment is when that kid tunes the VW up using the force.*
*That kid plays it so awesome, like he’s just discovered gravity or some shit when the car starts. I would’ve peed myself from smiling so hard if I was the dad in that scenario.
Corner Stone
I love it how the dad just wants a little lovin from his child and he gets hard core waved off by DV.
This ad is awesome.
j
@General Stuck: “Muskrat Love” was a reworking of the Lani Hall song “Sun Down (Baby)” produced by Herb Alpert.
It was too “suggestive” for the Captain & Tennile so the words became cartoonish.
Give it a listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FStTzPAOn5g
Cathie from Canada
Yes, its a cute commercial — one of the most annoying things about living in Canada is that we get Canadian commercials during the Superbowl, so we don’t know what all the buzz is about until days or weeks later, if ever.
Trivial, I know, but darn it, it really is annoying.
(That said, the ad made me wonder whether remote starters are something new in the States? We’ve had them on Canadian cars for years, so it surprised me that the kid wouldn’t have known already that Dad had used the remote.)
cs
From direct experience, I can tell you girls love Darth Vader too. My niece had a Star Wars phase during years 5 to 7. Her favorite character was Vader. When asked why, she responded: “Because no one tells him what to do. He doesn’t have to take a bath or go to bed or do anything that he doesn’t want to do. I want to be Darth Vader when I grow up!”
Somewhere in my mess of files, I have a video of her in a Vader mask yelling out “Luke, I am your father!” and then giggling when I’d do the Hamil scream “Nooooooooooo!”
DecidedFenceSitter
@Cathie from Canada: Growing up in Vermont I can tell you they aren’t new, but they aren’t common.
Paul W.
Eh, it was alright…. but that was obviously not a kid (way too deliberate with his emotions), which kind of ruined it for me.
I’ve had better.
jhaygood
@Paul W.: as i mentioned above i edited the spot, and it is indeed a kid. that’s what directors and editors do – manipulate an actor’s performance for a desired effect.
anyway, glad you’ve had better.
now back to al jazeera…