Volkswagen has released a Super Bowl teaser ad, dubbed the "Bark Side," playing off its popular mini-Darth Vader spot last year that helped launch the Chattanooga-made Passat.
The new ad unveiled Wednesday on ABC features a number of dogs barking to Vader's "Dark Side" theme in Star Wars. The commercial closes with the tag line "Back. And better than ever."
Mark Gillies of VW of America said "Bark Side" is teasing to the automaker's Feb. 5 spot for the redesigned Beetle.
Gillies declined to reveal more about the Beetle ad, quipping he'd have to "self-destruct" if he did so. Super Bowl ads are running about $3.5 million per 30 seconds. Last year's Passat ad received over 48 million hits on YouTube.
At the unveiling of VW's Chattanooga plant last spring, mini-Vader actor Max Page dressed in Star Wars garb reprised his role to the delight of a large room of onlookers. His mother, Jennifer, said then the attention her son had received was "unbelievable."