Choose Your Own Adventure: The Commercial

To promote the new A-Class, Mercedes-Benz gave viewers of the show X-Factor a chance to drive their interactive TV ads with the hashtag, #YOUDRIVE. The 3-part series depicted a young musician being driven to a gig and at crucial parts in the story, viewers could take to Twitter to decide things like whether to hide or evade a car chase. The results then determined what video would be shown at the next commercial break. Now that the

David George, Mercedes-Benz’s UK marketing director said “The new A-Class represents a new younger, more dynamic Mercedes-Benz brand, which is reflected in this campaign. It’s a modern Mercedes-Benz that encourages people to do what we know they enjoy; to get involved. In doing so, we hope to really cut through, and create a positive, lasting impression on their view of the brand.” (more at PSFK)

Why I’m Curious

We’ve all talked a lot about the “second screen” and common it is for a viewer to be scrolling through Twitter while tuned into a show like “X-Factor.” But most campaigns that take advantage of this behavior allow for interaction on the computer or phone (through check-ins etc)- but it rarely ties back to the TV. #YOUDRIVE adds an element of surprise, an incentive to stay tuned, and hopefully as George mentioned a “lasting impression on [the] view of the brand.”

I’ve watched brand mentions naturally spike while a spot airs on TV or there is a mention in a movie – this is really great way to keep the interaction looped back to TV. While Mercedes-Benz only did the ad as a one-off, future executions during a big event like the Superbowl, or across weekly episodes of a show would be equally (if not more) interesting.

The Invisible Car

To demonstrate the zero carbon impact of its fuel cell vehicle, Mercedes-Benz made its car “invisible” with LEDs and a camera hack that transmitted images from the opposite side of the car, blending the vehicle in with its surroundings.

This creative hack conveyed the company’s message that its vehicle is invisible to the environment because it produces zero emissions. To carry out the marketing stunt, panels of LEDs were places across one side of the car and a Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR camera was mounted to the other side. The LEDs then displayed whatever was being filmed, making the car appear (virtually) invisible to onlookers. Check it out in the video below:

 

Why I’m Curious

Beyond Harry Potter and James Bond, I’ve never seen this “invisibility effect” actually executed in real life.  And clearly this is just the beginning, since current technology only allowed for it to project lamely from one side. As this technology develops I am sure it could have diverse applications in scenarios such as gaming and scavenger hunts. Though in this case it cleverly and simply demonstrated the zero emissions message.