Vader vs. Thor [UPDATED]
This week, Marvel released a new trailer promoting the upcoming THOR. And upon viewing, we sense something… a presence we’ve not felt since… the Super Bowl.
After watching “Little Thor” several times (and talking amongst ourselves about how closely it matches the Volkswagen “Little Darth Vader” commercial), we decided to do a side-by-side comparison:
At first viewing, it’s easy to think the house is the same one used in the Volkswagen ad, but it’s clearly a different space. And it appears a different lens was used as well. Little Vader looks to be in a long, narrow hall; Little Thor’s hall seems to be more appropriately proportioned. And we’re treated to appropriate music for each spot: “The Imperial March” and “Ride of the Valkyries”, respectively.
Attention to detail is clearly evident: purse and scarf on the chair, hard surface floors, sheer window treatments. But it seems the designers took into account the color schemes of the costumes. Vader’s room is darker, while Thor’s is done more in earth tones.
Even the dogs are similar (both yellow labs?). Although there’s no fireplace behind Little Thor, the basic layout is the same – chair in the background on the left. Note Little Thor’s dog is named “Loki”. That was a nice touch. I wonder what Little Vader’s dog is named?
Again, obvious differences in lens and color schemes. The Volkswagen crew used a wider angle for many of these shots.
Love how the doll in Little Thor’s ad is a “Heidi” type. Makes me think someone’s going to start yodeling, which just adds to the depth of the planning for this spot. Note the Thor action figure in the background screen left.
Moms must have been separated at birth. Perhaps they were twins separated to protect them both from the Empo—- er.. never mind.
But note the similarities in costuming and facial expressions. Plus the props are similar, even down to the black plate.
With one little exception:
Yes, that’s a Stark Industries cup. Remember what Yogurt said: “Moichendising!”
And now back to our show:
Of course, the Passat commercial is going to focus on the Passat, so it’s more prominent in the shot. And again, check the color scheme. The Vader driveway is black, which the Thor driveway is more of a brown. Even the background elements reflect the nature of the characters: a grey house behind a grey car (clearly Imperial) vs. red brick townhomes behind a dark red car (which architecturally look more like a castle wall affair). Even the color of the briefcases match the environment.
Obligatory for the Passat commercial, the car interior shot seems to be in the Thor spot only to complete the mimicry. Interesting to note that the Passat looks more inviting on the inside.
And then they work their magic (or the Force…). Note the license plate on the red car. Clearly the Marvel team thought this through to the Nth degree.
Here’s where the spots start to diverge a bit. Don’t you think the Dads need to swap places?
Here’s the major difference, of course. Since we’re already expecting the car to start because of the Volkswagen spot, it was a fun surprise when the car actually went BOOM instead. And even with that much of an FX shot, I bet the Volkswagen spot still cost more in licensing fees…
And the reactions are what you expect in each circumstance. Little Vader’s surprise works perfectly against the restrained effect, while Little Thor’s blank expression and almost no reaction seem to say, “Well, I did it again…”
Even the full-screen graphics are similar, with a circle-wipe effect to bring it onto the screen:
So it begs two questions: What do the Volkswagen people think about it? Jaclyn Printz at Edelman had this to say about it: “I haven’t gotten everyone’s thoughts but I think we can agree that imitation is the highest form of flattery.”
And will we be seeing more of this kind of mimicry when it comes to marketing films?
