12 Wildest Car Commercials To Air On TV

What's the best way to learn about a car and its features? You could always read a review — we've got plenty. And while that can help you decide what car to buy, if you're just in the discovery phase of a purchase, you're probably going to rely on car commercials.

Like all TV commercials, car commercials are short ads designed to hype up a product and convince you to buy it, or at the very least look into it. But what's the best way for a car commercial to grab the audience's attention? You could design one that just states the facts, but that's boring. You want people to spread the word, and to do that, you need to get wild and freaky. Don't just tell the audience that a car is small and advanced; portray other vehicles as bulky and ungainly dinosaurs. Instead of explaining a vehicle's collision warning system, have the Grim Reaper cuss out the car after a driver narrowly avoids a crash.

TV history is full of wild and creative commercials. And here are some of the most creative we could find. (All entries are subjective, of course.) You might prefer a commercial where a car narrowly avoids killer Amazon delivery drones over one where a car is attacked by Godzilla, but you cannot deny that every commercial on this list is crazy in its own way.

Cheating a bit with this entry, since product placement is a proud tradition in movies and TV shows. However, just because someone drives an Audi in a movie or TV show doesn't automatically make it an advertisement. But what if a car regularly shows up, and the plot pauses so characters can praise it?

The Sci-Fi Channel used to carry plenty of quality, original programs. One of the most popular titles was "Warehouse 13," a series that followed two Secret Service agents who retrieved supernatural artifacts and secured them in the titular Warehouse 13. The show was basically the SCP Foundation (a popular Wikidot collection about a secret organization that secures anomalies) before SCP was even conceptualized. "Warehouse 13" was an ambitious series, but you know what they say about ambitious shows: They need a lot of money.

Most of the show's money troubles were solved thanks to a generous donation from Toyota, so long as commercials for the Toyota Prius received priority. However, the Prius kept creeping into "Warehouse 13." Not only did characters drive the vehicle within the show, but midway through the series, the show had essentially become one big Toyota Prius commercial. Every so often, the plot would be placed on hold just so characters could espouse the Prius and its features. These segments didn't make any sense and were storytelling whiplash. While the Toyota Prius is still around, at least it doesn't hijack sci-fi stories anymore.

The Ford EcoBoost is a special line of engines designed for economy. While they are smaller than prior Ford engines, they're supposed to be more efficient. How does one properly and efficiently advertise this fact? Four generations into the EcoBoost line, Ford's Australia branch decided to use gallows humor to leave an impact.

The Ford Falcon EcoBoost 4 Cane Toad commercial revolves around two cane toads — large toads native to Central America that were transported to Australia — just lounging on the side of the road. One of them is tripping out after ingesting its own natural defensive secretions (which can cause mild hallucinations). But then a car starts heading their way. They think they have enough time because it's a four-cylinder, but as it turns out, it's not just any four-cylinder; it's a Ford Falcon EcoBoost 4. One of the toads learns this the hard way when it gets run over.

If the message wasn't clear enough, the commercial ends with the core takeaway: The Ford Falcon EcoBoost 4 delivers six-cylinder performance in a four-cylinder package. But it does so by turning an animatronic amphibian into chunky, toad-flavored marinara. And the surviving toad is clearly traumatized, judging by how its voice cracks. Any children who saw the commercial were probably just as rattled, which raises the question of who thought the commercial was a good idea.

Consumer cars require keys to enter and start, but the definition of a "key" has changed dramatically. Many modern cars can be controlled remotely through fobs, and while this technology has existed since the 1980s, it only became popular in the 21st century. We might have some commercials to thank for that.

The 2013 "Bad Dog, Good Volkswagen" commercial centers on a man who can't find the keys to his Volkswagen Jetta. He didn't misplace them; his dog ate them. So the man has to drive the dog to the vet, but how can he do so without his keys? Because he's able to lock, unlock, and start his car remotely, all through the power of German engineering. The commercial's words, not ours.

While the commercial instills an unrealistic expectation of what you can do with a remote key fob — since you still need to press buttons on it to lock and unlock the car — the point isn't to be realistic, but to demonstrate that you don't need to insert keys. Plus, if you've ever owned a pet, especially a dog, you've probably had to deal with them eating something they shouldn't have. At least in the world of the commercial, the dog's tendency to engage in pica (the eating of non-food items) doesn't get in the way of receiving medical treatment.

It's every kid's dream to drive a car — no more waiting for your parents, full control over where you go and when. Sounds like true freedom. But is it really all it's cracked up to be?

The Subaru Legacy Jr. Driver commercial, starring a five-year-old Christian Ganiere (aka Ten from "Stranger Things"), starts off like every kid's dream. Ganiere, as an unnamed boy, is cruising in his Power Wheels when he gets the chance to drive his dad's Subaru Legacy. But what makes the commercial so weird is that it goes in a completely different direction than you'd expect.

Instead of espousing the advantages of driving, the "Jr. Driver" commercial almost acts like an anti-ad, listing all the problems that come with owning a car. When you've got a car and nobody else does, you're basically the designated driver. Getting stuck in traffic, and in the middle of a thunderstorm, no less. And then there's the tragedy of forgetting to feed the parking meter. The commercial ends with Ganiere realizing that he isn't ready for the Subaru Legacy, while the narrator reassures audiences that the car will be there when he's grown up, the implication being that the Subaru Legacy lasts a long time. It's a roundabout way of providing the message, but a delightfully weird one nonetheless.

While car commercials can and do drop year-round, we usually expect companies to pull out the stops during certain months. For instance, Super Bowl car commercials can get pretty crazy, but another peak period for preposterous promotions takes place during the holiday season.

For Christmas of 2017, Audi released a commercial that distilled the chaotic spirit of the season. The commercial revolves around two men in Audis who enter a parking garage at a mall. They're all chummy and smiles — until they realize there's only one parking spot left. Suddenly, it's a race to the top to occupy it. But the joke's on them: The digital sign that tipped them off was wrong, and there aren't any open spots. So what do they do? Race to a ramp in order to jump onto a nearby garage. And even though we don't see the conclusion, the commercial shows that the competition isn't over, because the men were planning to buy a stuffed giraffe as a present ... and there's only one left.

So, what's the takeaway here? That gift-giving holidays like Christmas are slowly driving us insane in the quest for presents? That the Audi is the most reliable car to help you weather the storm of holiday shopping? Whatever the intended message, the commercial is still a wild, wacky ride.

While many car commercials advertise a specific model, some are more concerned with an overarching manufacturer or its features. Creating a commercial for such a larger scope provides a unique set of difficulties because it requires an even tighter vision. In cases like this, creativity (and a bit of insanity) is beneficial.

To advertise Audi's piloted driving feature – an automated driving system that takes over during traffic jams — the company created a commercial starring a CGI T-Rex. The story? The once-mighty king of the dinosaurs is feeling down. He used to be feared by all, but over time, the fear dissipated. Worse, his tiny arms made him a punchline. It's enough to throw him into an existential crisis. But what snaps him out of his depression? Audi's piloted driving. Tt lets him "drive" without needing to touch the steering wheel — because, of course, he can't. His arms are too short.

This commercial is yet another example of an ad giving a false impression of the technology at hand. Piloted driving is safety tech that can take over when you're faced with bumper-to-bumper traffic, a little driving aid that lets you take your eyes off the road and pay attention to other things. But you're still probably going to remember Audi's piloted driving over others simply because it's so ridiculous. After all, dinosaurs improve everything via the law of awesome.

Škoda Auto is a Czech manufacturer that's been around since 1925. Sort of. Currently, Škoda is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen, thanks in part to a history of producing outdated vehicles. But that only gave the company an excuse to make a commercial aimed at winning over potential customers.

To advertise the Škoda Fabia vR5, the commercial made the car seem like it was constructed in the most metal way possible. Instead of using assembly lines and the many machines that surround them, the ad portrayed the construction process involving live animals and cyborgs. The metal frame is forged by smelting down katanas, and workers punch out spaces for door handles by literally punching them. Oh, and snakes are milked to create the car's paint job, and even more snakes are wound together to form the engine.

It probably goes without saying that no cars are built this way, but that's the point. The commercial is intentionally overblown and silly to the nth degree to deliver a single message: The Škoda Fabia vR5 is made of "meaner stuff." The only way it could be more metal is if the weather-proof finish came from Godzilla breathing all over it.

Godzilla has come a long way since his inception as an allegory for the destructive power of nuclear enery. He is now a cultural icon and the face of an entire franchise, and with that popularity comes marketing opportunities. Godzilla has been used to sell Hitachi products, Nike sneakers, and even Snickers and pudding cups. Oh, and cars.

To tie in with the first Legendary "Godzilla" film, Fiat produced a silly little commercial where Godzilla picks up and eats Fiat 500s as if they're metal Skittles. The army can't stop him, and nobody can outrun him. However, when he tries to pop back a 500L, he chokes and has to cough it up. The message is fairly obvious, but the narrator spells it out regardless: the Fiat 500L is deceptively large, or at least when compared to other Fiat 500s.

Virtually any commercial can be improved by the presence of Godzilla, but this one goes a step further by showing something we've never seen in any other "Godzilla" media: him choking. Of course, we've never seen the King of Monsters eat anything before, either (and no, the creature from the 1998 "Godzilla" film doesn't count, because nobody considers it Godzilla). Even when King Kong shoved a tree down his throat, Godzilla didn't choke.

Plenty of video games make deals with car companies to feature licensed vehicles. Usually, this relationship stays confined to the virtual world, but once in a blue moon, it leads to a collaboration that scratches the backs of everyone involved.

In 2014, Nintendo and Mercedes-Benz teamed up to give "Mario Kart 8" a very special and unusual bit of DLC: three drivable Mercedes cars. This DLC, also included in the base game of "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe," is basically one big Mercedes-Benz commercial since, well, it's real Mercedes cars within a popular racing game. This was one of the few — if not the only — instances of actual product placement in a Nintendo game. But that wasn't the end of it. Sort of.

In most countries, the Nintendo/Mercedes collaboration ended there. But if you lived in Japan at the time, you probably saw Nintendo return the favor via a commercial. The ad in question consists of Super Mario himself driving a pixelated Mercedes GLA through the Mushroom Kingdom, which then transitions to a more realistic Mario stepping out of a real GLA ... only to get jumped by a Goomba. To be fair, most of what makes these commercials so weird is the fact that nobody would expect them to even exist. One of the oldest game developers teaming up with one of the world's oldest car manufacturers? Okay, maybe that makes a bit of sense, but still.

If you've ever watched or heard of "South Park," you probably know about the legendary episode "Make Love, not Warcraft," made in collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard provided all the in-game assets and footage needed for the episode, but this wasn't the only time the game was used for an unrelated TV project.

In 2007, Blizzard and Toyota teamed up to produce a car commercial that aired during a football game — arguably the best time to run a car ad. The ad consists of three players in "World of Warcraft" gearing up to hunt a dragon. One equips an epic axe, another readies a stack of special arrows, and the third jumps into his eponymous "Four Wheels of Fury," aka a Toyota Tacoma. He then launches the truck straight into a dragon's mouth and kills it from the inside.

Needless to say, the commercial dials the ludicrousness up to 11 by its very nature, i.e., that it takes place in "World of Warcraft." And it only gets wilder from there, since the act of leaping into a dragon's mouth, tearing out its heart, then jumping out like a chestburster is, by definition, rad as heck. But do you want to know the most ludicrous part about the commercial? The party's Hunter uses "explosive" arrows, which never made it past the "World of Warcraft" beta patch 1.13.0.

This entry is also a bit of a cheat because it discusses a commercial for a car service instead of a car, but the result is so ludicrous that it begs to be covered.

In 1996, General Motors started a subsidiary known as the OnStar Corporation, which developed the titular car-centric subscription service, OnStar. If a driver owned a car with OnStar capabilities and was an active subscriber, they could have touch-button access to security services, remote diagnostics, and navigation. While an OnStar subscription isn't really worth it these days, the service was a big hit way back then, and commercials helped sell it.

While OnStar produced plenty of TV ads, arguably the most famous featured Batman trying to stop different rogues' gallery villains. Depending on the commercial, Batman contacted OnStar to unlock the Batmobile's door, or OnStar called him because he was in a crash and the Batairbag deployed. Each commercial balanced the seriousness of the subject matter with the tongue-in-cheek nature of the message, and they were all backed up by set design and actors who did a surprisingly decent job of mimicking the Tim Burton film source material. The commercials were so silly, it was hard not to fall in love with them ... or secretly hope a TV studio would create a live-action "Batman" series with the same aesthetic.

Most car companies don't have a mascot. They have iconic logos with symbolic meanings, but manufacturers rarely have an anthropomorphized representative. With possibly one notable exception, thanks to a series of equally notable commercials.

In 2008, Kia introduced the Kia Soul, a unique hatchback with a tall roof and boxy proportions to maximize interior space. Shortly after the car was released, Kia teamed up with the ad agency David & Goliath and started what might be the most iconic car commercial in history: CGI anthropomorphic hamsters driving in a Kia Soul, while other CGI hamsters listlessly spin hamster wheels and go nowhere fast. This ad kicked off a whole chain of Kia Soul commercials featuring the same gang of hamsters. Sometimes they trained to the beat of Lady Gaga's "Applause," and once, they crashed an alien invasion to dance to "Party Rock Anthem."

The commercials were obviously meant to turn heads — just like the Kia Soul — and they did. You'd have to be a creative genius to look at the Kia Soul and think "dancing hamsters," but don't take our word for it. The campaign won "Automotive Ad of the Year" at the Nielsen Automotive Advertising Awards. Yes, that's a real ceremony — we didn't make that up. While Kia still manufactures the Kia Soul, the company has dropped many features, including the hamster-themed commercials. Today's TV audiences are missing out.