In the name of selling anything, we sometimes see commercials that defy logic. If they are fun and evoke good memories, they can even catch our attention. That is the case with an old Brazilian advertisement to promote the Mitsubishi Lancer. The Japanese carmaker used the movie “Back to the Future” to try to sell the bland sedan in higher numbers.
You must probably be asking how these things fit together, but you’d better watch the commercial to understand the idea, and I strongly advise you to do so now before I spoil the fun. If you have already done that (it is embedded at the bottom of this text) or prefer to do it later, I can spill the beans: Mitsubishi tried to sell the Lancer as an evolution of the DMC DeLorean.
The commercial starts with the classic scene in which Doc Brown puts Einstein – his dog – inside the DeLorean for the time travel test. Although it is in Portuguese, the dialogs are precisely the same: Brown asks the dog to watch his head. When the car vanishes, he asks: “What did I tell you?”
When the car arrives, it is not a DeLorean anymore. Einstein is also not a dog anymore but a robot dog, which is the only element that makes you understand what the commercial tried to suggest. Just like a robot dog would be the canine future – let’s hope that is not true… – the Lancer would be the DeLorean evolution. If at least it was a Lancer Evolution…
Brown opens the door of the Lancer, and the robot dog with K.I.T.T. vibes tells him a famous Marty McFly line: “I guess you guys are not ready for that yet, but your kids are going to love it.” The narrator then says the name of the car and states that “the future is indeed surprising.” If the future turns a DeLorean into a dull sedan, surprising is an understatement, right?
The commercial then shows the robot dog putting his head out of the passenger window in a joy ride around São Paulo and talks a bit more about the car, trying to present it as the next big thing, which demands a bit more context.
By 2012, sedans were already seen in Brazil as conservative, old men’s cars, pretty much like Oldsmobile or Buick in the U.S. Nissan even made a commercial with a song that presented the Sentra as “not an old man’s car.” This is why the robot dog states that “your kids are going to love it:” the Lancer was supposed to attract younger buyers or those wanting to look more youthful.
The comments on YouTube show most people loved the commercial, but I have the impression that this was by association. As they love the movie, they also loved the advertisement, which could have been a good idea if it was not for some bad takes, especially for those that really love the movie.
Doc Brown sends Einstein one minute into the future, not decades. Even when the car travels, it remains the same. So do the characters, which is what makes it fun to watch in the first place: they meet their parents, their older ancestors, and also see themselves around. The main flaw, however, is making the Lancer look like a DeLorean evolution. I also think our furry friends are irreplaceable, especially with a machine, but let me stop nagging. If you have never watched the commercial, you may love it, even if you are not that fond of the Mitsubishi sedan.
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