Ad of the Day: Kia's Hamsters, as You've Never Seen Them Before

Kia's hamster commercials are that rarest of advertising species: a campaign that by all objective measures you should hate, but which you can't help but love. The formulaic setups—fruit doesn't hang much lower than dancing animals—are redeemed by the supremely gleeful (and skillful) execution, and the attention to detail. The ads, by David&Goliath, are so well produced—and they go so all in—that you can't help tapping your foot to the music, even as you try to stifle the smile that so annoyingly seems to be spreading on your face. In the end, you might as well just sit back and enjoy it. Kia certainly is. The campaign has picked up Effie awards and Nielsen's "Automotive Ad of the Year" honor and racked up tens of millions of YouTube views. There's a good reason this is the fifth spot in the series. And it might be the best yet—despite once again being almost completely clichéd. It promotes the all-new 2014 Soul, which has been significantly redesigned. And so the hamsters themselves get a makeover. You learned to love them because of their baggy clothes and endearingly chubby dances—à la Weird Al's "Fat" video—but here they work hard to develop a new image, and end up fitting into much more stylish attire. Normally, an ad like this would use the Rocky theme, or maybe "Eye of the Tiger." But this one is set to Lady Gaga's new single "Applause," and it will have a well-timed TV premiere connected to the song—a 60-second version will debut on Sunday's Video Music Awards following Gaga’s first-ever live performance of it. Perhaps she'll even show up in a hamster suit. (The spot will also reach cinemas. The 90-second web version is below.) "The hamsters always have their paws on the pulse of pop culture," says Colin Jeffery, D&G's executive creative director, who directed the latest spot. (Even the PR around these ads is required to be cheesy.) "With the help of Lady Gaga, some current fashion trends and our friends at MPC VFX, we introduce a sleeker, sexier and more sophisticated Soul. The hamsters don't look too shabby themselves." Hopefully they'll put the weight back on before the next ad. This is a campaign that will stay cool by being the opposite. Scroll down to see photos from the shoot. CREDITS Client: Kia Soul Spot: "Totally Transformed" Agency: David&Goliath, Los Angeles Chief Creative Officer: David Angelo Executive Creative Director: Colin Jeffery CD/Copywriter: Gary DuToit CD/Art Director: Eron Broughton ACD/Copywriter: Greg Buri ACD/Art Director: Basil Cowieson ACD/Art Director: Kristian Grove Møller Executive Producer, Managing Director: Carol Lombard Executive Producer: Paul Albanese Managing Partner, Client Services: Brian Dunbar Group Account Director: Brook Dore Account Director: Justin Manfredi Account Supervisor: Nancy Ramirez Account Executive: Kammie Dons Associate Strategic Planning Director: Steven Garcia Sr. Planner: Armando Potter Production Company: @radical.media Director: Colin Jeffery Executive Producer: Frank Scherma Producer: Kathy Rhodes Director of Photography: Toby Irwin Production Designer: Brock Houghton Wardrobe Stylist: Christina Blackaller Special EFX: Legacy Effects Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors Editor: Angus Wall Executive Producer: CL Weaver Producer: Toby Louie Assistant Editor: Austyn Daines Post Production: MPC VFX Supervisor/ 3-D Lead: Andy Boyd Compositing Supervisor: Jake Montgomery Animation Lead: Stew Burris Animator/Rigger: Ian Wilson Animator: Jean-Dominique Fievet Lighter: William Schilthuis Lighter: Shaun Comly Texture: Hayley O'Neil Modeler: Aaron Hamman 3-D FX: Charles Trippe Tracking: Mike Wynd Compositor: Clement Compositor: Jason Heinz Compositor: Brendan Smith Smoke Artist: Mark Holden Telecine: Mark Gethin Executive Producer: Asher Edwards VFX Producer: Nicole Fina Record Label: Interscope Records Artist: Lady Gaga Sound Design: Hammers Project Sound Designer: Johannes Hammers Music Editing: Massive Music Audio Mix: Margarita Mix Mixer: Nathan Dubin Magazine Covers Courtesy of: Wired / Condé Nast Rolling Stone / Wenner Media LLC Men's Health / Rodale

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Ad of the Day: Kia's Hamsters, as You've Never Seen Them Before

How can ads that are so dumb be so good?

Tim Nudd

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