Name:The Force
Client: Volkswagen
Agency: Deutsch
Length: 60 seconds
This is my favourite advertising creative because it combines effective and engaging advertising with Star Wars... what’s not to love?
In the lead up to the 2011 Super Bowl, Volkswagen had only booked two 30sec spots during the game, however they felt that ‘The Force’, their 60sec piece, was actually their strongest. So, four days before the Super Bowl ‘The Force’ was uploaded to YouTube and by the time the game started it had attracted 17 million views online.
If ‘The Force’ were to be released today it would certainly face a different climate as Super Bowl advertising has changed dramatically from being a one-time event to a month-long marketing campaign. At the time it was a radical decision to publish ‘The Force’ online ahead of the Super Bowl. “It’s hard to think about now, but at the time, it was not the conventional wisdom to air or put online a commercial that was meant for the Super Bowl… the wisdom was you hold it, because you would get the most value out of that impression by waiting” said Tim Ellis, who was the head of marketing for Volkswagen North America at the time.
If we learn anything from ‘The Force’ it’s that we should support strong advertising creative and not be afraid to challenge conventional execution.
References:
http://time.com/3685708/super-bowl-ads-vw-the-force/