A small boy in a Darth Vader costume marches around the house trying to use the Force on everyday objects, and nothing happens. Then his father arrives in a new Volkswagen Passat, and the boy raises his hand at the car. The engine starts, because his father has used the car’s remote keyless system, and the boy is stunned at what he thinks he has done.
The ad ran during Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011. Its agency was Deutsch, and the boy was six-year-old Max Page, who reportedly had never seen Star Wars. He never takes off the mask, yet his tiny gestures and disbelief carry the whole story.
Volkswagen took a risk that was unusual at the time and put the film on YouTube four days before the game. The gamble worked: it had about 1.8 million views by the next morning and millions more before kickoff, and it became the most-shared Super Bowl ad of all time. Then it played to the huge TV audience anyway, so viewers already knew and loved it.
That release plan changed how brands treat the Super Bowl. Advertisers now tease and post their ads early instead of saving the reveal for the broadcast, and “The Force” is the reason. It also shows what makes a great ad: one simple joke, a memorable character, and a product feature explained without a single spec sheet.
Leave a Reply