Kia Soul Hamsters return (U.S)

The new advertising campaign for the 2010 Kia Soul will be top-heavy with hamsters. The South Korean carmaker is even rolling out a line of "Hamstar" clothing for followers of the cuddly creatures.


Kia said the clothing, which is featured in the advertising, will "soon be available for purchase by fans at http://www.hamstarclothing.com/."

The ad campaign likens the Soul to other "boxy rides — represented by toasters, washing machines and cardboard boxes," said Kia Motors America in a statement. The hamsters also rap the title song's lyrics, "You can get with this, or you can get with that."

"Given the success and popularity of the hamsters in the initial Soul launch with a spot that won Nielsen's Automotive Ad of the Year, it made sense to bring them back for a new campaign," said Michael Sprague, Kia Motors America vice president of marketing. "The newest experience is rich with details in the hamster world."

The full commercial can be seen here.

Press Release:

Kia Motors America (KMA) officially released a new advertising campaign, titled “This or That,” for the 2010 Kia Soul. “This or That” is the rebirth of the initial Kia Soul award winning advertising campaign created by David & Goliath, KMA’s advertising agency of record, and brings back the loveable Hamsters due to popular demand. Soul is a unique and highly personalizable urban passenger vehicle and the new spot builds on its creative theme in the style of a music video set to the classic hip hop track “The Choice is Yours” by notable 90’s hip hop group Black Sheep. The new campaign launches today on cable TV networks Comedy Central, Fuse, MTV, MTV2 and Spike and runs through July. Beginning 28th May it will appear in movie theaters across the country as well as have a presence online at Pandora, Facebook, Social Vibe’s PetVille, KMA’s Kia.com. and a YouTube contest.

“Given the success and popularity of the hamsters in the initial Soul launch with a spot that won Nielsen’s Automotive Ad of the Year, it made sense to bring them back for a new campaign,” said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing of KMA. “We know the Soul target audience is digitally savvy and that they viewed the first commercial multiple times online, so the newest experience is rich with details in the hamster world and integrated Soul content for them to discover during repeat viewings.”

“Hamstar™” logoed clothing, as seen in the spot, will soon be available for purchase by fans at www.hamstarclothing.com (check soon for details).

Cruising through an urban landscape behind the wheel of an Alien Green Kia Soul, the hamsters in “This or That” cleverly compare Soul’s unique styling and plethora of personalizable creature comforts to other boxy rides – represented by toasters, washing machines and cardboard boxes – while rapping the title song’s lyrics, “You can get with this, or you can get with that.”

A recipient of “Best Family Cars for 2010” by Edmunds.com and Parents Magazine, “Best Hatchback of 2010” by Cars.com, “2010 Top Cars for Families” by Motherproof.com, and 2010 “Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000” from Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com, Soul is available in four trims, Soul, Soul+, Soul! (exclaim) and Soul sport, as well as four special editions, including the recently unveiled special-edition Ghost Soul. Other special-edition Soul vehicles include Ignition Soul, Denim Soul and Shadow Dragon Soul. Pricing for the versatile five-door begins under $14,000.

Soul stands out from the crowd with modern, unique styling aimed toward the young and young-at-heart and offers a unique combination of style, value and personalization options. An available Audio Upgrade Package includes speaker lights that can pulse to the beat of the music or add mood lighting to the interior cabin, enhancing the overall personal lounge feeling. The Soul+ offers funky black cloth seats with “glowing” Soul logo inserts while the Soul! trim comes with a distinctive sand-black interior with houndstooth-patterned inserts, and the Soul sport presents a bold red-black interior trim with red-trimmed cloth seats and metal-finish interior accents.