Volkswagen Commercial: The Force

Volkswagon's new advertisement for the 2012 Passat features an adorable mini-Darth Vader who tries to use the force to control his dog, a doll and even a sandwich, and finds no success in exerting his will until he discovers the new Passat in the driveway. This he is able to conquer and bend to his will, with a little help from his parents! This commercial offers a storybook family, of two parents, a dog, and two kids: a boy and a girl (as evidenced by the pink room and the baby doll). At a time where in America, half of the families are headed by a single parent, Little Darth maybe a window into a past time where this condition was not so prevalent. Volkswagon's use of the Darth Vader character seems central to the idea of transporting this audience back to a time where the two-parent home with two kids and a dog was both the ideal and alot closer to the reality.