31.5 million times.
That's how many times someone in that last 10 days has clicked onto YouTube to watch a 60-second car commercial.
31.5 million. That remarkable figure means that marketing experts can debate until the next Super Bowl which 2011 ad might sell the most stuff, but no one can dispute which ad Americans loved most.
It was the Little Darth Vader ad for Volkswagen--played by a six year-old blonde Californian named Max Page who was born with a heart defect, strongly resembles Luke Skywalker, and has never seen a Star Wars movie.
Why does this ad captivate millions of people?
In part, it's because it captures a charming truth about us: We dream. We dream of our dream house or spouse, or of hitting the World Series-winning homerun and the NCAA championship-winning jump shot.
We project ourselves Little Darth and his fantasy, and at the end, his commercial resolves our fantasy perfectly: His dream comes true:
His Force starts the car!
The ad also delights us by taking us back to our childhoods. In doing that, Volkswagen joins dozens of marketers--notably, Apple, Google and USA Today--who evoke memories of our childhoods by using the primary colors of our childhood toys.
The ad makers at Deutsch also employ a device that we've love since childhood; they tell us a story. A leading neurophysiologist recently said he believed the human brain is literally hot-wired for stories, and it's worth noting that the leaders of all the great religions were outstanding story telllers. And to cap it off, Little Darth's story adds to that by finishing as all great American stories and movies must: with a happy ending.
Little Darth's ad resembles one of history's most famous commercials: Coca-Cola's 1979 "Mean Joe Greene" ad. In that ad, a boy realizes almost every boy's dream by encountering a star football player after a game. The boy says hello and offers his Coke to the tired star, who finally obliges, then turns and trudges away. There's a delay, then you hear, "Hey kid!" The boy turns around. Mean Joe tosses his football jersey to the boy.
Like Little Darth, the boy looks stunned. We older boys understand, and feel his happy surprise, too.
At the same time,the Darth ad appeals to the parent in us. We watch a little boy who could be ours, acting out a fantasy like one from our childhoods. When the boy's Force works, we love seeing his amazement, just as we love to see amazement in our own children.
An editor of this magazine recently asked me, "For which childhood trait could every adult benefit?" I quickly wrote back : "A child's sense of wonder and awe,"
Will this wonder and awe sell Volkwagen Passats? I hope so. The world can always use more of both, for reasons hinted at in the words by the poet Rosemary Dobson:
"Wonder is music heard in the heart."
So good luck Volkswagen, kudos to the storytellers at Deutsch, and may the Force and wonder always be with you, little Max.
--Harry Beckwith (beckwithpartners.com)(follow him on Twitter), speaks and lectures on marketing and buyer behavior all over the world, and also wonders if a name like Deutsch helps a company attract German clients. He has written four international bestsellers, including Selling the Invisible and the just-released Unthinking: The Surprising Forces Behind What We Buy.
