Mercedes Drive and Seek Short Film

Producing internet short films featuring cars is not a new thing. BMW was probably the first to popularize this when it made The Hire series back in early 2000s. But because they were made in the pre-Youtube era, you won't find it on the official BMW WebTV channel but you can still find them on Youtube. Employing big names like John Woo, John Frankenheimer, Clive Owen, Don Cheadle, Madonna and Guy Richie, the series still remains as one of the most successful and memorable automotive branded content short film. Audi later tried to jump on to the branded content short film with the "Meet the Beckers" series and would later hire Justin Timberlake for the "Next Big Thing" series, to drum up interest for its Audi A1 global launch. But neither made the same lasting impact as BMW's The Hire. Now, Mercedes is the latest adopter of branded content short films. A point of interest for most readers is that the film is actually shot in Malaysia and Singapore!

Apparently Malaysia is getting quite popular as a video shooting location. About 3 months back Hyundai started filming its Hyundai Accent 3D wall projection viral ad in Jalan Imbi, KL. The content was later broadcasted all over the world on Hyundai's official Youtube channels. Also, back in 2007, Renault flew in its then yet to be launched Laguna III (even though the car was not sold here) to shoot a teaser ad, featuring then Renault F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen. Scheduling constraints probably played a role too as the film crew had to adjust to Heikki Kovalainen F1 duties schedule. The shooting was made during the F1 circus stop over for the Malaysian GP. You can still watch it here.

The "spy photographer" in the Renault Laguna III teaser ad, featuring Heikki Kovalainen, shot in Sepang.

To launch the new C-class Coupe, Mercedes commissioned a branded content interactive short film, titled Drive & Seek. Watch the series below.

The first part, Highlights, is a thinly disguised video catalogue highlighting the C-class Coupe's party tricks.

German number plate, left hand drive car,  facing the wrong side of the road in a right hand drive country, with a local "Laluan Sehala" (One Way Street) sign.

The next part is the actual full 9 and a half minute long story. How many locations can you guys spot?

Ubiquitous blue Hyundai Sonata NF taxis in Singapore.

Infinity pool at Singapore's Marina Bay Sands hotel?

Looks like Putrajaya. No Unit Helang Lancer Evolutions though.

Noticed the public service logo in the background?

Also, noticed the product placement for IWC Schaffhausen watches? Luxury watches and luxury cars target the same clientele. So it makes sense for luxury car companies to pool their marketing resources together with luxury watch makers. Bentley partners with Breitling while Jaeger-LeCoultre produces certain models exclusively only for Aston Martin owners.

IWC Schaffhausen Big Ingenieur model, as worn by the protagonist in the story.

Swiss based IWC Schaffhausen often partners with Mercedes-Benz's high performance AMG sub-brand in producing limited edition IWC Ingenieur series AMG models.

Think this vixen looks familiar? That is because she is Kate Nauta, who starred alongside Jason Statham in Transporter 2, which is also another product placement heavy movie, by Audi.

Does this look familiar now?

This is not the first public appearance of the new C-class coupe. Actually, as far back as February 2011, the C-class coupe appeared very briefly in Mercedes-Benz USA's Superbowl commercial featuring P. Diddy, as part of Mercedes-Benz's 125th year anniversary. But only the sharpest eyed enthusiasts spotted the new generation C-class coupe, the SLS Roadster, the CLS and SLK.

By the way, what's with Mercedes ads and stolen arts? The same stolen art background story was used to set the tone for Smart Fortwo's ad in China, featuring basketball superstar Kobe Bryant.

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