The latest star turn for Kia Motor America’s dancing hamsters is poised to become the company’s most popular yet after amassing more than 1 million views on its YouTube channel in less than a week.
The “Totally Transformed” spot for the 2014 model of the Kia Soul crossover got a boost from MTV’s Aug. 25 Video Music Awards, debuting minutes after Lady Gaga’s first live performance of “Applause,” the song featured in the ad.
The spot is on pace to easily surpass last year’s version, which featured the 2013 Soul model from the Irvine-based automaker as a time-travel machine that the hamsters used to crash an 18th-century opera house. It has generated 1.4 million views over the past 12 months.
The fast start for “Totally Transformed” puts it in the running with the 2011 appearance of the hamsters in “Share Some Soul,” which now ranks as the third-most-watched automotive ad in YouTube’s history with more than 20 million views over three years.
The 60-second “Totally Transformed” video is stacking up well against recent TV ads released by other local car manufacturers. Irvine-based Mazda North American Operations’ ad for Mazda 3 has had about 620,000 views on YouTube since its introduction two months ago, while an ad featuring Costa Mesa-based Hyundai Motor America’s Assurance Connected Care had 412,404 views during the same two-month time frame.
“When the first Soul arrived on the scene, everyone at Kia believed we had a hit on our hands, but we didn’t realize how big that hit was going to be,” Michael Sprague, Kia’s executive vice president of marketing and communications, said in a statement. “Our year-over-year success is a direct result of the hamster commercials entertaining the young and young-at-heart with their baggy clothes, excellent taste in music and slick dance moves.”
David&Goliath, Kia’s advertising agency of record, has created all of the hamster ads. The newest version features the same trio that debuted five years ago, but they’ve shed their frumpy, hip-hop image, stepping out on the red carpet adorned in slick, black suits.
“The Soul maintains its individualistic edge with a fresh take on its iconic design, as well as a ‘Totally Transformed’ driving experience,” Sprague said. “The hamsters have followed suit by getting fit and developing a new fashion sense that reflects the sophistication of the newly refined Soul.”
The hamsters’ transformation reflects the changes Kia introduced in the second generation of the passenger vehicle—the 2014 Soul is longer, wider and equipped with premium features, such as Bluetooth wireless technology and steering-wheel-mounted controls. Its starting price is $14,700 and ranges up to about $24,000.
The new ad generated some 2,000 comments within five days of its debut, mostly positive.
“OMG You nailed it. Perfect!” read one of the comments.
Others were less enthusiastic.
“I thought the hamsters were supposed to be black hip-hop guys. Now they’re white thin GQ guys.—I hope they don’t stay this way. They were cooler when they were chunky.”
The “Totally Transformed” campaign also includes social media components.
The ad will run through November and is being shown on the major networks and some cable channels, including Comedy Central and Hub. It has also appeared on more than 33,000 movie screens nationwide since Aug. 30.
There will be no print component.
The company’s media budget for Kia Soul in 2012 was $30.3 million.
Kia Motors America, which sold nearly 485,500 vehicles in the U.S. in 2011, is the U.S. arm of Kia Motors Corp. in South Korea.
