There’s little doubt you’ve seen Volkswagen‘s cute Darth Vader commercial from this past year’s Super Bowl. It was a huge success for the German automaker and became a viral hit, totaling over 40 million views on the brand’s YouTube channel. More recently it took home a Golden Lion advertising award at Cannes.
But the spotlight isn’t all its cracked up to be and the commercial’s success is now the target of a spoof ad created by Greenpeace. The environmental group is targeting VW, accusing the German auto giant of not supporting tighter emissions targets.
“Volkswagen has been running an ad campaign showing a cute kid in a Darth Vader costume turning on one of their cars. It’s been a big hit but for a company that’s essentially threatening the future of all of our children, we thought it was ripe for a remake,” said company representative Andrew Davies “The symbolism of Star Wars is far better suited to the kind of destruction Volkswagen’s policies threaten to wreak on our planet, than to a fluffy advert to sell more of their cars.” (Oh snap!)
The spoof ad asks viewers to then join the Rebellion by signing a petition at www.vwdarkside.com. A caption for the YouTube video reads, “We feel the good in Volkswagen. Help us turn VW away from the Dark Side.”
Watch the video after the jump:
