Kia Soul Hamsters Were Cute, Sexy and Fast, Now They're Gone

That's just one of the three things I can recall about the Kia after spending three days with it, alongside the light-up speakers. But thinking about the Soul, the first thing that comes to mind is "hamster."

If that doesn't right a bell, allow us to explain. Kia launched the subcompact crossover SUV at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It was a relatively strange car at the time, but Kia was counting on it to draw in a younger audience and increase its global sales.

Now, marketing and sales go hand in hand. You can have the best product on the market, but that alone won't guarantee its success. People need to find out about it, and they need to make a connection before making a purchase.

To make the Soul more desirable, Kia came up with a sort of mascot for their new product. Los Angeles-based agency David&Goliath created the first Kia Soul Hamster Commercial back in 2009, and the video quickly became viral. The location is set in "Hamsterville," where residents are still stuck running inside wheels that aren't going anywhere.

At one point, a group of hip-hamsters arrive at the stoplight in the Kia Soul, and they're listening to The Potbelleez hit song Junkyard. "Kia Soul- a new way to roll" pops up at the end of the video, and you can't help but love this unconventional approach to an automotive commercial.

This would be the first promo video for the Soul, but it's not necessarily the best one out there. We've identified a total of eight commercials so far, if you don't account for the soundtrack variations. And our top four choices are the following.

The 2010 Hip Hop approach took things to a whole new level. Kia used "The Choice Is Yours" by Black Sheep to send their message across, and hamsters have never looked so cool before. We've seen agencies showcasing a certain product through comparison, but the metaphor used here fits the automotive industry quite nicely.

While our main characters drive a Kia Soul, other hamsters are stuck with driving toasters or washing machines. But the rodent saga was only beginning at this point. For the first two years, Kia sold almost 100,000 units. The Korean manufacturer matched those numbers in 2011 and continued to increase that volume for the next five years.

Our second choice on this list is a further statement for the Soul's success. Kia licensed Lady Gaga's "Applause," a song that has racked up almost 500 million views on YouTube alone in the past nine years. The story of this commercial is slightly more complex than last time.

The agency has used a montage showing how the hamsters are going through a complete transformation, something which is slightly reminiscent of an old Rocky Balboa movie. Of course, the main goal is to showcase that the car has evolved as well. But now, the Soul-Hamsters have lost the "Boys in the hood" attitude, becoming genuine superstars as they enter the red carpet.

With the introduction of the electric version, the company needed to make a statement about its efforts to go green. And, of course, they were going to capitalize on the success of the hamsters yet again. This time, the soundtrack was provided by Maroon 5. Their song "Animals" is even more popular than Lady Gaga's hit, with over one billion views on Youtube alone.

We can't begin to imagine how much it must have cost to license this song, but it couldn't have been less than six figures. The hamsters have now gained scientist status. But transforming the Soul into an EV seems to have had a side effect too. If you've ever heard the phrase "sex sells," you might recognize the use of this strategy for this video.

In eight years, the hamsters went from being cute and cool to tough, macho, and smart and back to cute again. But through all these videos, the soundtrack used has played a crucial role in drawing in the audience and making the car more desirable to them.

The introduction of the 201-hp Turbo Soul was marked by the commercial released circa 2017. This time, an ultra-fast baby-hamster named Turbo has escaped the nursery and is making his way out of the hospital. With Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" playing in the background, you can't help but get a sudden need for speed.

While some people have expressed their disinterest in the hamster-Soul commercials, most pet lovers were hooked on the idea. And a quick search on Youtube or any other video platform will reveal a few more of them that you might enjoy. But sadly, the hamsters weren't going to stick around forever.

With the rise of the cryptocurrency market over the past few years, Kia has opted to switch to NFT skeletons from the Dead Army Skeletons Klub. Like it or not, this is the new trend for the new generation. Since 2008, the Korean manufacturer has sold over 1.3 million Soul units, but yearly sales seem to be declining. And it will take more than using animated characters in promo videos to change that.