The Force (advertisement)

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The Force
Agency Deutsch
Client Volkswagen
Language English
Running time 1:02
Product
Release date(s) February 6, 2011
Music by "The Imperial March" by John Williams
Starring
  • Max Page
Production
company		 Lucasfilm[1]
Country United States

The Force is a television advertisement created by Donny Deutsch Advertising Inc. (Deutsch) to promote Volkswagen's Passat.

Commercial

Volkswagen had not aired a commercial during the Super Bowl in more than 10 years, but in 2011, the company ran two ads, both from advertising agency Deutsch. The other was called "Black Beetle".[2]

The advertisement for the 2012 Volkswagen Passat, created by Eric Springer, Michael Kadin, Ryan Mclaughlin, Craig Melchiano and David Povill at Deutsch, features a young boy (played by Max Page) in full Darth Vader regalia attempting to use The Force to start a washing machine a clothes dryer, and to wake the dog and a doll. After he is unsuccessful in those attempts, he is startled to discover that he can start the car, though his father actually does it using a remote control.[3]

The film was directed by Lance Acord and produced by Park Pictures featuring the musical track "Imperial March" composed by John Williams.[4][5]

Actor

Max Page had never seen any of the Star Wars movies, saying he was too scared.[3] He met James Earl Jones, the voice of Vader in the Star Wars movies, in New York City[6] on February 7.[7] On May 24, Page appeared in costume, with the Star Wars Darth Vader music playing, at the inauguration of the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant.[8]

In addition, Page has played Reed Hellstrom on the American TV soap opera The Young and the Restless since November 24, 2009,[9] appeared in local commercials, and has acted "since he was barely able to walk".[10]

When he was three months old, Page had life-saving surgery, and soon after that received a pacemaker to treat a heart disorder called Tetralogy of Fallot.[10] Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) cardiology chief Michael Silka said, "He can essentially have normal activity and with careful care, a full life is a reasonable expectation."[3] Page, at age 7, had another corrective open-heart surgery at CHLA on June 14, 2012. He received a valve expected to last 15 years.[11]

Reception

The Passat ad appeared on YouTube the week before its TV debut on February 6, 2011. By the next morning, the video had received one million views; the number reached 8 million before the commercial aired on TV.[10] Considered by everyone connected with the ad to be the best version but "too long to play during the game",[2] the online version lasted sixty seconds, compared to thirty in the broadcast version, and the long version stood out more in people's minds.[12] As of February 7, the video had more than 15 million views. Page's mother, Jennifer, said the reaction was "overwhelming. ... I can't even keep up with the messages and the calls."[3]

James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times said the ad "will get inside people’s heads and stay there because it combines the iconic 'Star Wars' character and a classic sentiment—a child’s desire to be larger than life."[13] Of all the Super Bowl ads, Rainey said, "the one you’ll actually want to see again is Volkswagen's, powered by the force of a tiny Darth Vader who tells a simple story, with a little body language and nary a word."[13]

Stuart Elliott of The New York Times enjoyed the ad, calling it a "loving spot-on tribute to Star Wars."[14] CNBC's Phil LeBeau said that the commercial was "clever, original" and "left a strong lasting impression."[15] According to USA Today the commercial was posted online 5 days before the Super Bowl and had already garnered 13 million views by the time the game aired.[16] It also scored number 3 on the USA Today Ad Meter.[17]

On May 23, the Passat ad won an online competition on the CBS special Clash of the Commercials: USA vs. the World,[18][19] in which people were asked to "choose the greatest commercial of all time."[18] The second-place finisher was Heineken's "Walk-in Fridge".[20]

By the end of 2011, Advertising Age said, "With 600 placements, the video is on pace to become one of the most-watched viral ads of all time."[21] In its first year the ad had over 49.4 million views.[17] The video is also the most shared ad of all-time.[22]

As of August 2014, the Passat ad had 5,254,667 on social media when it was surpassed after 41 months as the most shared ad by "La La La (Brazil 2014)" for Activia.[23] It remained in second place and was still the most shared Super Bowl ad as of January 2015, when it had 61 million views.[2]

The success of the Passat ad is considered to have changed how Super Bowl advertising is viewed. Instead of a single ad, businesses look at an entire campaign which involves previews before the game and the use of social media.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ "10 Ads Creativity Loved," Advertising Age, December 12, 2011, p. 12.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ "Top 10 Viral Campaigns," Advertising Age, December 12, 2011, p. 16.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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