This ad is not new but it is one of the smartest commercials ever created. A plea for the Mercedes G-Class and its exceptional qualities. The two great rivals Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher starred in this superb Mercedes TV spot.
Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen were fierce rivals on the F1 circuits but their relationship was not as distant and cool as that between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.
And the careers of the two great champions were closely linked to Mercedes. Mika Hakkinen won two drivers’ F1 world titles in 1999 and 2000 in a Mercedes McLaren while Schumacher was a member of the Mercedes Junior Team and returned to Formula 1 in 2010-2012 in a Mercedes after great successes in the Ferrari era.
One of the most memorable moments between the two is Hakkinen’s sensational overtake at Spa Francorchamps in 2000. Ahead of the two ran the late Ricardo Zonta. Hakkinen was behind Schumacher, he overtook Zonta on the right while Schumacher lost precious time overtaking on the left and Hakkinen took the lead.
In 2010, the marketing people at Mercedes had a brilliant idea: to make a Mercedes TV spot with Hakkinen and Schumacher. The ad was called “Sunday Driver” and is one of the funniest in history.
Michael Schumacher drives a Mercedes 190 SL very carefully on a snowy road, and behind him runs Mika Hakkinen in a Mercedes E-Class T-Model. Hakkinen overtakes the very slow Schumacher and exclaims: “Sunday driver!” But immediately Hakkinen is surprisingly overtaken by a Mercedes G-Class. The young woman behind the wheel says visibly irritated: “I knew it, senior citizen!” and off she drives.
Mercedes’ message is brilliant: A Mercedes-Benz will bring you through the winter in style. However, even a 4MATIC drive cannot protect a professional racing driver from the other drivers. You can see here the full TV Mercedes TV spot.