Just as NASCAR and Formula 1 have their Silly Seasons, so, too, does the ad industry. It starts a couple of weeks before each Super Bowl with strategic leaks and press releases, ramps up with televised and (hopefully) viral teaser videos, culminates in the Big Game itself, and then has a vibrant but short-lived afterglow during which everyone from The New York Times and Ad Age to yours truly weighs in with their expert opinions. The goal, of course, is to get as many tongues and thumbs wagging about your commercial as possible. Given the predominantly male audience, it's not surprising that sex is often used to achieve this objective (think the classic Cindy Crawford Pepsi commercials). Shameless heart-tugging works well, too (witness last year's Paul Harvey Ram pickup tear-jerker), and so do attention-getting, over-the-top-production values, as with Mercedes' introductory spot for the CLA-class that featured Kate Upton, Hollywood heavyweight Willem Dafoe, and Usher, with the Rolling Stones playing backup. But when all is said and done, it's humor that generally takes top honors. The commercial doesn't have to make sense and it needn't include any meaningful selling points: It just has to make people laugh. In that vein, Audi brings you this super-silly but guaranteed-to-bring-a-chuckle 60-second clip entitled "Doberhuahua."
We open on a young couple in a fancy pet shop, trying to decide between a Chihuahua and a Doberman. When the clerk suggests they consider crossbreeding, the couple tries to picture what the world would be like if it were overrun by imaginary Doberhuahuas, before wisely deciding to adopt a mutt from a shelter instead. The message? That the new A3 sedan is a real dog? No.
The ostensible point is that bad things happen when you compromise, and the 2015 A3 won't force you to make any compromises. This is unlike, presumably, its primary competitors, the Mercedes-Benz CLA-class and BMW's 2-series, which, as we all know, are totally crappy cars that nobody wants. Like I said, the commercial doesn't have to make sense. Although I suppose one could argue that, from certain angles, the CLA-class looks as head-heavy as the Doberhuahua. Veiled shot perhaps?
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There are 37 scenes in this fast-paced spot, and one of them actually did make me laugh out loud, the shot where the Doberhuahua falls on its fat head and can't get up. The dog-show segments provided some smiles, too, and kudos to Sarah McLachlan for her SNL-caliber self-parody as pet adoption spokes-singer. Of course, there are some patently dumb things, like having the beast stuck in the doggie door (maybe he backed into it?), and some of the CGI work looks like it was done by interns, but on balance the commercial does exactly what Audi wants it to do: It leaves 'em laughing. Unlike, say, that other A3 spot we reviewed today.
Award-winning ad man-cum-auto journalist Don Klein knows a good (or bad) car commercial when he sees one; the Ad Section is his space to tell you what he thinks of the latest spots. The ad's rating is depicted via the shift pattern at the bottom, but everyone has an opinion when it comes to advertising, so hit Backfires below and tell us what you think, too.
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