Remember back in May this year when Mercedes-Benz teamed up with Nintendo to create an unusual little ad for the new Mercedes-Benz GLA? Featuring none other than Nintendo’s Super Mario behind the wheel of the sleek SUV, the commercial became quite the hit, with media and news outlets all over the world reporting on it.

Well, as it happens, it wasn’t just YouTube users the commercial was appealing to: Mercedes-Benz Japan has recently announced that it has seen a marked increase in visitors to its showrooms and demand for the car driven by this muscular Mario was far higher than expected.

The GO GLA! ad, which Japan’s Livedoor News reports has now been viewed online more than 2 million times, shows an ’80s-era Mario tearing through the first level of classic platformer Super Mario Bros. in a pixely Mercedes-Benz GLA, before switching to a live-action shot of a real-life Mario climbing out of the car parked in front of a small fort in a desert scene.

Despite devoting so much screen-time to a tiny 8-bit version of their new car rather than focusing on the real thing, the ad proved to be a huge hit, and consumers in Japan were keen to see the GLA in the flesh, quickly descending on Mercedes-Benz showrooms.

▼Perhaps Japanese consumers admired the car’s goomba-squishing proficiency?

YouTube

While official numbers have not been released, big-wigs at Mercedes-Benz Japan were keen to stress the success of their new model and how the ad had caught consumers’ eyes.

“[The commercial] was quite a talking point, bringing a lot of people to the showroom,” Mercedes-Benz Japan president and chief executive officer Kintaro Ueno commented. “This is a new market segment for us, but it has exceeded our expectations. I can say that it’s going well.”

Hear that, advertisers? Forget your panoramas and shots of beautiful couples driving through Paris and Prague when you want to sell cars — if you really want to get people’s attention, showcase your vehicle using a video game from 1985, stick a plumber with an enormous bulbous nose behind the wheel and you’ll be raking the money in!

Source: Livedoor News

Feature image: YouTube