This year over 111 million people turned into Sunday’s big event. For some this meant the game between the Packers and Steelers, for others this meant the brand bowl. The 108 commercials this year spanned the usual array of products and services. Firms paid about $3 million per 30 second spot. A lot of cash for an opportunity to get a short message in front of a huge audience. Far too often do brands fail to truly capitalize on this golden opportunity. Apple’s 1984 commercial was the first to maximize their exposure and convey the revolutionary concept of their new Macintosh personal computer. Over the past several decades while many have aspired to eclipse the now iconic Apple ad, few commercials have ever come close, including this year’s recent contenders.
By far, 2011’s break out ad that will be elevated to the short of list of best big game ads was “The Force,” created by Deutsch for Volkswagen. Advertising cars is nothing new to Deutsch who created campaigns for GM’s former Saturn brand. Volkswagen only recently retained Deutsch as their primary agency in late 2009.
What makes “The Force,” a great ad is its interweaving of multiple components which resonate with its audience on different levels. The ad begins with John William’s menacing score of rhythmical drum beats and deeply blaring brass instruments escorting a pint size Darth Vader, his cap flaring with the force as he break through the still air in front of him. The widely recognizable music and imagery often used to convey power and the dark force is positioned perfectly in contrast to the innate characteristics of childhood: lack of power and control. The archetypal villain turned little hero tries to use his small hands and Yoda training to summon the force to move inanimate objects and a cute dog too all found in the quintessential American middle-class home. Staccato punctuations within the musical score are excellently dramatized by lil’ Darth’s body movements as he tries to use the force on household items. Between the music and acting there is no time for the viewer to wonder what product the ad is for because they have already succumb to its force.
Despite a mask, the little hero conveys his sadden and frustration with his inability to master the execution of the force. The sound of a dog barking and an engine signals yet another opportunity for lil’ Darth to take another crack at using the force. Running past the open arms of his father, he again tries. By this point the audience who has lived vicariously through lil’ Darth is summoning their inner force to help make the magic happen. He tries, he concentrates, hands held to together with all fingers at attention trying to will the car to respond to his command. And finally it does. Lil’ Darth has mastered the force. It startles him and he jumps backwards as children do when they are frightened.
Ah, and then the big reveal. It is a coy father who thanks to the Volkswagen Passat’s remote start capability is able to summon “the force.” Lil’ Darth stands there in awe and shock. As do we all.
Deutsch and Volkswagen are able to take the concept of remote start which is often presented in a winter setting as a means to heat cars and transcend its capability to an every day use on the level of a supernatural power. All at an affordable price.
Besides the commercial’s brilliant story-telling, Deutsch created a comprehensive campaign around the thirty-second ad spot. Two weeks before the game, the New York Time published a story about the upcoming ads and Volkswagen was prominently featured. Volkswagen also posted two blogs prior to game day. They seeded a fifteen second teaser trailer on YouTube as well as leaked the ad. By game day, the ad already had over six million views. This created buzz at big game parties and drove word-of-mouth marketing of it as the must-see commercial. Prior to kick-off they tweeted about the ad being on YouTube and also tweeted asking their Twitter followers to vote for the ad on Facebook’s Sports page.
Deutsch also put a thunbnail picture of the ad on the landing page of Volkswagen’s website and their blog. Consistent links across multiple sites drove traffic to the extended version of the commercia.l Even using Facebook’s search directed consumers to the commercial on YouTube. Post-game day, Deutsch secured an interview on the Today show for Max Page who played the part of lil’ Darth. His story of having been born with a congenital heart disorder and having a pacemaker raised the story to a new level by adding a heartwarming touch.
Deutsch and Volkswagen put out the most comprehensive big game campaign. They effectively leveraged social media to build buzz and drive word of mouth sharing. Post-airing they continued the hype through prominently surfacing the ad on Volkswagen’s online properties and by adding the actor’s personal story. Their only miss might have been not incorporating the ad into Volkswagen’s Facebook page. However, a minor oversight in an otherwise brilliant campaign.
Will the commercial turn consumers into Volkswagen customers? Probably not. What the ad does do is promote general brand awareness, a specific capability and an overall feeling of empowerment. For a few million dollars, Volkswagen has received tens of millions of impressions through video views, new stories, blogs and tweets. The ad harnesses iconic imagery and magic of childhood to inspire and delight an audience that at least for a few seconds can rekindle a feeling of wonderment as they watch the force unfold.
