Some of the best commercials are those that can’t be aired on television – for obvious reasons that don’t need to be detailed here. There are some, though, that are controversial, such as this commercial created by three film students from Germany, which covers a very sensitive topic in the country even 68 years after the end of World War 2: Hitler and the Nazi regime.
The ad is set in an Austrian village at the end of the 19th century where we see a child Adolf Hitler having a good time playing with his kite. Distracted by his toy, he crosses the street at the exact time a 21st century Mercedes-Benz C-Class passes by. Although equipped with the Collision Prevention Assist system, the Mercedes doesn’t stop and kills the young Hitler.
The moral of the story is that the Collision Prevention Assist “detects dangers before they come up”. Obviously, Mercedes-Benz disapproved of the commercial and reportedly labeled it as “inappropriate”.
The carmaker had the students add disclaimers on the video, unintentionally making it even more popular in the process.
By Dan Mihalascu
VIDEO