How The Coen Brothers Created The Luxury Car Brand's Super Bowl Campaign - And Why It Works
If you don't know the Coen Brothers by name, you've definitely heard of their work. The writer/director brothers have created classic comedies like The Big Lebowski and Fargo as well as award-winning dramas like No Country For Old Men and True Grit. And if you haven't seen any of their films, you will be seeing one of their newest creations: a TV ad.
In what has become a growing trend, Mercedes is another brand tapping into hiring celebrity directors to create ad campaigns, following in the footsteps of H&M's Christmas ad campaign and Walmart's upcoming Oscars ads. In this blog, Hollywood Branded looks at Mercedes' move in hiring movie directors to create TV ads for Super Bowl 2017, with the hire of directors and brothers Joel and Ethan Coen.
Mercedes Looks To New Techniques For Super Bowl Ads
Super Bowl ads can get lost in the mix with so many huge brands vying for the estimated 114.4 billion viewers that are expected by the network. For years now, the Super Bowl has been the Oscars of ad campaigns. And while celebrity ad endorsements are common practice for the big game, celebrity directors are a new territory.
The Coen Brothers are not only award-winning writers and directors, but have a huge cult following. Mercedes was smart to pick this combo; with a built in audience and directors who know what they are doing, the spot was a sure win before the word "Action" was spoken.
What's cool about this ad is that in a world where it seems every brand is trying to appeal to millennials or Gen X, this ad instead caters to the Baby Boomers, which is smart. The Baby Boomers are the ones with the savings to buy the Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster, and the taste to want it.
The Ad - Born To Be Wild
Our story takes place in a biker bar somewhere off Route 66, you know, in the kind where the juke box only plays "Born To Be Wild" by Steppenwolf. No, literally, in the ad, every single song on the jukebox is "Born To Be Wild."
It's business as usual in the bar, including drinking, bar fights and plenty of Easy Rider nods. That is, until one biker walks in and announces, "Blocked in."
This strikes a note with the bikers who immediately quit their antics to go see what could possibly be blocking their bikes in. What could it be? Why, it's a gorgeous Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster. And the driver? Peter Fonda. Yep, the original "easy rider." "Nice rides," he tells the bikers.
As he speeds off, the bikers remark, "still lookin' good."
On the screen we see the tagline: "Born to be wild. Built to be wild."
Check out the ad:
Could Your Brand Use A Celebrity Boost?
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