What the crap? Is VW trying to become the next Threadless, abusing borrowed interest from Star Wars to the hilt?

While the Darth Vader spot from the 2011 Super Bowl was humorous and heartwarming, it really did nothing to sell a car. Yes, it was the most shared spot of last year - very very top of the funnel. I guess I’ve reached a point where mass branding feels archaic. I’ve also reached a saturation point of borrowed interest being celebrated over originality. You could argue that the Chrysler spot with Eminem borrowed on his celebrity but at least the boy hails from the Motor City and his appearance bolsters the message of the ad. What the hell does Star Wars have to do with VW?

Even if you could convince me that mass branding is worth the millions invested, is VW celebrating the dark side? German engineering, indeed (snark).

UPDATE: Got into a bit of a volley with Faris yesterday on the Twitters and while I agree that all advertising is borrowed interest, the good ones do it like the Beastie Boys or Girl Talk, not Vanilla Ice.

To add a cherry on top, a colleague passed this along from the Jalopnik blog: http://jalopnik.com/super-bowl-ad-watch Even the awesome, scene-stealing AT-AT is potentially a heavily borrowed idea. Ice, ice, baby.