Kia Welcomes a New Hamster and It's the Littlest, Wildest, Cutest One Yet

The Kia hamsters are back, and they've added a new member to the family. To introduce the brand's new Soul Turbo vehicle, David&Goliath created a spot featuring a cute new baby hamster named Turbo. Like Kia's new 201-horsepower vehicle, the pint-sized rodent is not exactly easy to catch up with. A nurse returns to the maternity ward to find Turbo missing. She soon discovers him running around the hospital, causing all kinds of mischief and evading hospital staff, perfectly soundtracked by Motorhead's "Ace of Spades," until it appears the little hamster's crazed exuberance may lead to a premature demise. [kickout id="1"] But of course, there's a happy ending, as the rest of the Kia hamster family arrive in a Soul Turbo just in time to whisk Turbo away. Good luck getting that hyper hamster to sit still for the car ride, though. The 90-second spot makes its debut online today and in theaters Friday, appearing on 25,000 screens nationwide in National CineMedia and Screenvision movie networks. The campaign will run throughout the summer, supported by social media, and also includes 90-, 60-, 30- and 15-second extensions that will run both in theaters and online. "And you can always count on Kia's music-loving hamsters to make a few personal appearances at events and auto shows along the way," Kia Motors America vp of marketing Saad Chehab told Adweek, calling the characters "a major factor in the Kia Soul's ongoing popularity and success." "When you create a longstanding icon that people love, it’s always a challenge to keep it fresh and relevant," added David&Goliath founder and chairman David Angelo. "Over the years, people have grown to love these furry critters. ... The last thing we want to do is disappoint them. Which means every year we have to up our game. This year, we leveraged a combination of storytelling, pop culture and pure adrenalin with a totally new character." Angelo called Turbo "not only the embodiment of the new Turbo Soul but also the maverick challenger spirit of the Kia brand." He joked that the idea for the character came "After the 14th cup of coffee on a Thursday night." "Actually, we wanted to introduce a more narrative approach to the hamster campaign than we have in the past," he added. "Something that signified a new chapter for Kia." As for the song choice, Angelo says it functions as both a tribute to Motorhead's late Lemmy Kilmister, who died in December 2015, and the perfect song to fit the high-speed action of the ad. "Kia has always had its finger on the pulse of pop culture. And at the center of that is music," he added. "The idea always comes first, but then the job that follows is to take it to the next level with the right piece of music. And having an agency full of music-crazed millennials, many of whom are huge Motorhead fans, doesn't hurt either." CREDITS Agency: David&Goliath, LA Founder & Chairman: David Angelo Chief Creative Officer: Bobby Pearce Executive Creative Director: Gustavo Sarkis Creative Directors: Basil Cowieson, James Cohen Director of Broadcast Production: Paul Albanese Executive Broadcast Producer: Curt O’Brien Chief Strategic Officer: Wells Davis Associate Planning Director: Ed Gibson Senior Project Manager: Genie Lara Junior Project Manager: Paul Stephens Managing Director: Jeff Moohr Group Account Director: Mike O’Malley Management Supervisor: Aleks Rzeznik Senior Account Executive: Annelise Lorenzo Product Information Manager: Mark McNaul Director, Business Affairs: Rodney Pizarro Business Affairs Manager: Daniella Vargas Digital Account Director: Marco Koenig Digital Senior Account Executive: Rebecca Hanson Production: MJZ Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen President: David Zander Senior Executive Producer: Eriks Krumins Producer: Donald Taylor Editorial: Work Editorial Editor: Jono Griffith Executive Producer: Marlo Baird Producer: Brandee Probasco Assistant Editor: Josh Sasson Visual Effects: JAMM VFX Supervisors/Lead Compositers: Jake Montgomery, Andy Boyd Senior Flame Artist: Brian Hajek Executive Producer: Asher Edwards Producer: Ashley Greyson Color: MPC Colorist: Mark Gethin Executive Producer: Meghan Lang Music Editing/Sound Design: Stimmung Creative Director: Rory Doggett Sound Designer: Gus Koven Executive Producer: Kristina Iwankiw Licensed Music: “Ace of Spades” By Motörhead

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Kia Welcomes a New Hamster and It's the Littlest, Wildest, Cutest One Yet

David&Goliath introduces the Kia Soul Turbo

Erik Oster

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Erik Oster