Rapping hamsters a winner ad

The campaign for the Kia Soul sees the hamsters rapping on the virtues of the boxy Soul while less hip hamsters cruise the streets in giant toasters and washing machines - in a fairly sizable dig at Toyota’s reputation for turning out dull cars.

It’s not the first Effie for Kia, which won the Silver award last year for the same campaign’s opening ad, in which the hamsters cruise around in a red Soul while everything else on the streets is in a hamster wheel.

Awards are one thing, but selling cars is another. Kia Australia thinks the entertaining approach translates into more buyers. "The ad is really popular over there, and I would think any sort of interest created would be worth sales somewhere down the line," Kia spokesman Kevin Hepworth says. "I think fun in advertising is important and we showed that with the Grandmaster Flash ad for the Sportage."

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So with the success of the rapping hamsters, perhaps we should stay tuned for a ‘cute Aussie animal’ ad for the Soul. Break-dancing wallabies with a chorus line of koalas should do nicely.