Wackel-Elvis
A Wackel-Elvis (German pronunciation: [ˈvakəlˈɛlvɪs], "Wobbly Elvis") is a small, hanging dashboard figure designed to resemble musician and actor Elvis Presley. A prototype of the figure was first introduced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi in a series of television commercials which were broadcast in several European countries. The commercials were produced by the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi in 2001 to promote Audi's new continuously variable "multitronic" transmission. Due to a high demand by Elvis fans after publication of the commercials, 15,000 Wackel-Elvis figures were produced and sold at the Audi factory outlet store.
Different from the design found in most conventional
Design
Wackel-Elvis was designed to portray musician and actor Elvis Presley around the time of the early 1970s. The dress of Wackel-Elvis resembles the white jumpsuit Elvis Presley wore in the 1973
Four
Due to safety concerns, the pointed nail in the right foot of the figure was removed from some exported versions of Wackel-Elvis. However, the missing nail can be replaced by nails found in common plastic pushpins after the plastic surrounding the nail has been removed.
Television commercials
In 2001,
In some of the commercials an Elvis Presley sound-alike version of the 1965 Roger Miller song King of the Road was used as background music.[3][4] Another set of the series of commercials featured a generic Elvis Presley sound alike title as background song.[5] In some of the spots the Elvis impersonator was offered a ride in a silver colored Audi sedan.[3][4] In other versions he was picked up by the same fellow driver in a silver colored Audi wagon.[5] Close to the end of the commercials Wackel-Elvis, immobilized by the stepless transmission, was prodded in the belly to initiate the wobbling motion in the Audi automobile. In some of the commercials in the series, the stub was executed by the female driver,[3][5] in others by the Elvis impersonator.[4] While flagging down the fellow driver after the breakdown of his car, in some versions of the commercials the Elvis impersonator supported his gesture with a sharp and short whistle.[3] In other versions of the spot he remained quiet when gesturing the driver of the car to stop.[4][5]
Commercial product
The Audi commercials featured a prototypical Wackel-Elvis, initially intended for use in the television commercials only.[1] Unlike the eventual commercial dashboard figure, the Wackel-Elvis featured in the Audi commercials was presented with blonde hair and wearing a golden jumpsuit; the prototype was designed with more pronounced bow legs than the commercial product.[3][4][5] Due to high demand of viewers after the spots aired in several European countries, an initial production run of 15,000 figures was sold out quickly. Another 150,000 Wackel-Elvis dashboard figures were mass-produced in China to satisfy the high demand for the product. In 2001, Wackel-Elvis was sold for DEM 15.60 (EUR 7.98 or ca. USD 11.00) in the Audi factory outlet store in Ingolstadt, Germany.[1]
Wackel-Elvis is a product officially licensed by
Cultural impact
Videos have been produced by fans of Wackel-Elvis which closely relate to the product. One video features an animated digitalization of Wackel-Elvis. In the animation, the digitalized figure creates the impression of Wackel-Elvis dancing to the 1956 recording of the Elvis Presley song Too Much.[7] Another video shows a car ride through the Elbe Tunnel beneath the River Elbe in Hamburg, Germany from the dashboard perspective of Wackel-Elvis.[8] A recent performance shows Wackel Elvis doing an off hand rendition of "Blue Suede Shoes".[9]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Fans Waiting in Line for Release of Wackel-Elvis - November 6, 2001, Die Welt (German)
- ^ Karina Kravczyk Audi commercial (2001) - Internet Movie Database
- ^ a b c d e f Audi Wackel-Elvis commercial (2001, British version)
- ^ a b c d e f Audi Wackel-Elvis commercial (2001, German version)
- ^ a b c d e f Audi Wackel-Elvis commercial (2001, French version)
- ^ Wackel-Elvis retail box bearing Elvis Presley Enterprises logo and hologram
- ^ Animation of Wackel-Elvis dancing to the Elvis Presley song Too Much
- ^ Car ride through the River Elbe tunnel from the Wackel-Elvis perspective
- ^ Wackel Elvis lives!