Volkswagen: The Force
In 2012, the newly remodeled Volkswagen Passat would be launching at the same time as the Toyota Camry, the best-selling car in the U.S., which had dominated the mid-size car category for more than a decade. We aimed to use Super Bowl XLV to make VW's new redesigned model a part of the cultural narrative and create momentum for the launch.
In the end, we helped Volkswagen kickstart a new era of Super Bowl advertising by unveiling "The Force" online four days before the Big Game. The early release—which has since become a widespread practice—created unprecedented pre-kickoff buzz, collecting over 12 million views before the spot even aired on Sunday.
It would go on to earn the titles of most-shared Super Bowl ad of all-time and second most-shared TV commercial ever. It was also voted Best Commercial of 2011 by AdWeek and named one of the Top 10 Auto Commercials of the Last 25 Years courtesy of The One Club.
