Along with making the jump to TV series, film directors have started lending their talents to commercials. Latest in that trend are the Coen Brothers, with their 60 second (or 30 second, depending on which version) tribute to Easy Rider. The ad is part of Mercedes’ effort to differentiate its AMG brand from the more familiar Mercedes-Benz name. It’s a similar move to what Hyundai did with its Genesis. But you clicked because of the Coen brothers.
The ad itself is quick, but the Coen brothers’ trademark quick edits and physicality are all over it. It opens in a biker bar and Steppenwolf’s iconic “Born to Be Wild” is the only song on the jukebox and is the soundtrack for the standard activities of a Route 66 biker bar. Fighting, arm wrestling, pool, those sorts of things. We get a nice shot of Peter Fonda, star of Easy Rider, getting into his roadster at the end and tying the whole ad together. Like a rug.
