Love 1980s music videos or hate 'em, it's hard to argue over the best videos of the decade. That'd be A-ha's "Take on Me," a rotoscoped pencil-sketch animation mixed with live action. Catchy, original, super-memorable.
Volkswagen hasn't forgotten it either, based on the company's new "Feeling Carefree" commercial, which was posted on YouTube on Monday and has already racked up over 275,000 views.
The ad is clearly homage to the original video, and even starts out with the a few seconds from the opening of A-ha's video, featuring the start of a car race. But in this new version, a Volkswagen Passat surges forward to win the race, and the singing winner is met at the finish line by a twirling young woman (who closely resembles actress Bunty Bailey from the original).
Alas, it turns out the drawings, and the story, are all part of the imagination of a businessman, who is sketching them during a meeting. He's also in the middle of trying to hit the song’s high note when he comes back to earth, and realizes he's been singing the song aloud. "Is that me? Was I singing?" he asks.
The ad was directed by David Shane, whose ad for Time Warner Cable featuring cast members of "The Walking Dead," made headlines in February.