Young Darth Vader

Submission 19,572

About

Young Darth Vader (also known as "The Force Advert") is a TV advertisement for the German automobile company Volkswagen. The commercial features a child actor dressed in a Darth Vader costume running around his house trying to use "The Force." The video was first released via YouTube a few days before it was broadcast during the commercial break of Super Bowl XLV in February 2011.

Origin

The commercial was uploaded via Volkswagen's official YouTube channel^[1] on February 2nd, 2012. It begins with child actor Max Page dressed as the young Darth Vader from Star Wars saga, who tries to test his psychokinetic powers on various household items around the house, albeit unsuccessfully.

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Halfway through the video, the resigned looking Vader nearly quits his experiment before making one last attempt on his dad's Volkswagen sedan Passat. Only then the car engine miraculously turns on, leaving the young boy startled about his mystical power. The video ends with his parents looking out to the driveway from inside their home, using the remote control start button to turn the ignition on and off.

Spread

The commercial was positively received by online audiences well before its airing on broadcast TV during the football game, receiving over 16 million views on YouTube and an addition of 53.3 million TV audience viewers. "Young Darth Vader" was also selected by a number of of news publications as their favorite choice of Super Bowl commercials, including MSNBC^[3], The Wall Street Journal^[6], The Washington Post^[2] and USA Today.^[7] The ad was also featured in the Best AD's of 2011 television show.^[6]

Appearance on NBC Today Show

On the following Monday of February 7th, child actor Max Page and his mother appeared on the morning show NBC Today to answer a few questions and discuss behind-the-scene stories. According to the interview with Max's mother, the child had been undergoing medical care for a congenital heart condition prior to working on the commercial.

2012 Super Bowl Commercial: The Dog Strikes Back

On January 30th, 2012, another Star Wars-inspired commercial video titled "The Dog Strikes Back" was released via Volkswagen's YouTube channel. The video is centered around a dog named Bolt chasing after a Volkswagen Beetle and guest stars Max Page as the young Darth Vader towards the end.

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Notable Examples

On YouTube, there are dozens of parody videos imitating the scenes from the Volkswagen commercial, mostly starring preadolescent children in Darth Vader costumes and filmed by their parents.