Mercedes-Benz: “Magic Body Control — Chicken”
Chickens keep their heads perfectly still while their bodies move, to explain a suspension system.
- Brand
- Mercedes-Benz
- Year
- 2013
- Agency
- Jung von Matt
- Category
- Cars
A man holds a chicken and moves it up, down and side to side. Its body follows his hands, but its head stays perfectly still, as if fixed in the air. Dancing chickens follow, to a disco beat. Then the comparison becomes clear: the car's body stays level, whatever the road does underneath.
The 2013 campaign by German agency Jung von Matt explained Mercedes-Benz's "Magic Body Control", a suspension that scans the road ahead and adjusts to it. Chickens really do stabilise their heads like this, which made the idea both scientific and very funny.
It became a viral hit and a famous case of explaining complex technology with a single visual. Jaguar even answered with a parody featuring a cheetah, a sign of how well-known the chickens had become.
Watch the full ad on YouTube
Could you recognise it with the logo hidden? This ad is one of 129 famous commercials in Guess the Ad.
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