Were you one of the last week's 111 million viewers of the Super Bowl? With such a huge number of viewers, chances are good that you were. Like a lot of other people, we watch for both the game and the commercials. While we enjoyed the game, we found this year's commercial selection to be a bit lacking. However, there was one spot in particular that stood out (if you're reading this post via email you may need to visit our site to watch the videos below).
Did the video above look familiar? No? Watch the video below and then ask yourself, "did Mercedes take a page from the Porsche "Family Tree" commercial?"
Oh yeah, one last thing. We're sure you must have heard that Janis Joplin song at the very beginning of the Mercedes ad. Seems to us they forgot a line...
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Well OK then, what about the new “Black Series” 911 and 987? Does that make a “tit for tat”? 😉
+1 on the stealing/borrowing idea. the benz commercial reminds me of “Close Encounters” a bit too. More borrowing.
@Chuck, completely forgot about the “black” AMG. sharp car!!
@Mark +1,000,000 😉
My friends all drive Porsches – a great line, but actually Janis drove a Porsche and not a Mercedes. Odd that the Mercedes marketing department knew enough to drop the line from the commercial, but misses the point of the song. A Joplin fan would also know that Joplin owned and drove a wildly painted ’65 356c not a Mercedes, and that this song was the last ever recorded by her- she died 3 days later. What was God telling her?
I’m a Porsche guy through and through (993) but MB does have a rich history of their own. I don’t think this was a rip off of the Porsche commercial. No offense over here.
Steve,
Completely agree about the rich history and in fact we have an E class as one of our DDs. However, while I have no problem with two companies trying to convey the same message, I just don’t like the fact that they weren’t creative enough to come up with a different way to do it.
“… my friends all drive Porsches…” Wonder why they cut that part out.. ahem.
Oh, yeah.. I’m a Porsche guy, but still, that’s a pretty classy commercial.
Perhaps a bit too much reading into. It’s just a commercial.
Two thoughts:
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
and
“If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”
BOTH commercials are quite lame. The Chrysler/Eminem spot is possibly the best car commercial ever. (for the record, I drive a Carrera 4 cab)
JS Right on
NS987 Also right on
I’m a Porsche guy through and through…although my fav line is by Tom Cruise ?
as used in many Porsche ads “Porsche…there is no substitute”
Both commercials are good, if a bit pretentious. Let’s not overthink them. – (996 owner)
Man, I believe Mercedes used not one, but TWO Porsche´s ideas
The “sleeping” Mercedes cars awaking in the middle of night is just like Cayenne GTS comercial called “Bloodlines”
They don’t seem very similar to me, all it talks about is the history of te company. Chevy and ford could do similar commercials too
Benz and BMW are very different from Porsche and can not be compared. Porsche has always been sports cars, benz and bmw make grocery getters. Benz and BMW are like german versions of Toyota while Porsche is closer to Ferrari. Only within the last few years Porsche has messed it all up with SUVs and front-engine sedans to make a quick buck which is really sad. The cayenne and panamera are fine vehicles but they’ve diluted what Porsche stands for
p diddy driving a Benz makes me proud to own a Porsche
They don’t seem similar to me. If Porsche is showing its family tree, why was the Cayenne not shown? Did I miss it? There are so many components that have been developed on the 959 that are now on the Cayenne/Panameria models.
And for the record, the 1st “super-sedan” Porsche made was the M-B W124 500E from 1992 to 1994 model years. Why did this happen? M-B was helping out Porsche during some dire financial problems after Porsche “gave away” the 959.
I have a Cayenne Turbo, and I have a 500E – both made by Porsche.
Janis Joplin can blast her song anytime in either of my fine German automobiles.
For those to young to remember. 🙂 Saw this on an end of year wrap up on the Porsche newsletter.
Lyrics to the song…
Mercedes Benz
By Janis Joplin
————-
Oh lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz.
My friends all drive porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends.
So oh lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz
Oh lord won’t you buy me a color TV.
Dialing for dollars is trying to find me.
I wait for delivery each day until 3.
So oh lord won’t you buy me a color TV.
Oh lord won’t you buy me a night on the town.
I’m counting on you lord, please don’t let me down.
Prove that you love me and buy the next round.
Oh lord won’t you buy me a night on the town.
Oh lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz
My friends all drive porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends.
So oh lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz