Weekly Ad Classics: MICHAEL MANN, MERCEDES-BENZ LUCKY STAR

       Lucky Star was a campaign commissioned by Mercedes-Benz to promote their SL500 in 2002 that seriously tried to break the barrier between film and advertising. It was presented in the form of a trailer for a feature film with actors Benicio del Toro and Ana Cristina in it. Supposedly Director Michael Mann imagined the piece as if it were a complete motion picture; the production staff of his previous films Heat and The Insider all worked on it. The “film” aired in cinemas across the UK, as if it were indeed a trailer for an upcoming movie, using the moviegoers’ suspencion of disbelief to promote the product. As part of the deal with Mercedez-Benz, Michael Mann actually retained the rights to make a real Lucky Star movie in the future. In case you were wondering, Lucky Star is the name of the three-pointed star that makes up the Benz logo. Hey, if they have made movies based on toy lines, why can’t they make one based on a car line?

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