VIDEO: Kia Soul reinterprets the Hampster Dance
Click above to watch video after the jump
The original Hampster Dance was born in 1998 and featured an endless loop of four hamsters dancing to the song "Whistle Stop" by Roger Miller. One of the first internet memes to really explode in popularity, the Hampster Dance and its simple animated GIFs look positively low tech by today's standards, but we remember the first time we saw it and were ROFL for hours.
Kia has come along and appropriated the domesticated rodents for a commercial promoting the new Soul. A compact, four-door, wagon-type vehicle in the vein of the Scion xB, the Soul fits four hamsters comfortably and they clearly enjoy the car's iPod connectivity. Those hamsters not riding in a Soul, however, get a hamster wheel, which obviously won't get them very far. The commercial is cute and playful, though we're suing Kia if our nightmares about giant hamsters comes back.
Follow the jump to watch anthropomorphized hamsters drive a Kia Soul.
[Source: YouTube]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Juan 7:42PM (3/12/2009)
Cute...
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MKIV 2:06PM (3/13/2009)
Nice Scion Xd.
jsjs 12:57AM (3/14/2009)
"Nice Scion Xd."
The Soul is way better looking than that fugly box (btw, it's xB) and the xB copied the whole boxy shape from the Nissan Cube - so in actuality, it should be "Nice Nissan Cube".
Kumail 7:43PM (3/12/2009)
I really like the Soul, saw one at a dealership in a light green, looked nice.
Might consider it depending on how the coupe looks like...
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cxvargas 7:45PM (3/12/2009)
Funny. KIA is going to sell tons of these. Too bad Chevy may not bring the Spark to our shores and the Fiesta is still close to a year to arrive at the dealerships.
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waiownsyou 7:47PM (3/12/2009)
AWWWWWWWWWW!
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nissanfreak87 7:58PM (3/12/2009)
great idea, excellent commercial!
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James 8:02PM (3/12/2009)
Props to the advertising company that put this together. I hope the Soul is a success for Kia, and maybe Scion will take a hint and put the 3rd gen xB on a diet.
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Joe Black 8:03PM (3/12/2009)
Should have been a Super Bowl commercial...would have double their sales.
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Adam H. 8:13PM (3/12/2009)
major props to hyundai/kia marketing, they're hitting the right spots with their commercials and products lately.
Kia a low cost, lifestyle brand. whodathunkit?
Hyundai a low cost, luxury brand. nobodythunkit.
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Tony 8:13PM (3/12/2009)
I test drove a soul the other day at the dealership by my house. I was very impressed by the sporty handling, the only downside was the road noise coming from the wheels.
It's definitely on my short list of vehicles I would like to own after my lease finishes.
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Bob-omb 1:05AM (3/13/2009)
Which one did you test drive, Tony? I imagine the 18" tires are moderately noisy, but hopefully the 16" ones aren't.
StanleyVanBuren 8:29PM (3/12/2009)
I'm so.... startled...
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Kattleox 8:29PM (3/12/2009)
funny...the Korean cars are fast becoming more appealing to me than their Japanese competition.
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Level 8:55PM (3/12/2009)
Kia's soul out did Scion's xb...Toyota couldnt help themselves to make the xb bland lol...This Kia is a looker...
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BoneHeadOtto 9:32AM (3/13/2009)
Funny that you think the Kia is a looker. It obviously had it looks inspired by the 2nd gen xB. Just look at the pilars and overall shape. But i personally like the look of the xB better. It has a meaner looking front, lower ride height, and bulging wheel wells. The Soul looks too much like an SUV with its lower front bumper guard and raised ride height.
Just compare the looks here and see if you still like the Soul better.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4306145.html
Compare the stats and you will see that the xB is not that much heavier than the Soul and not that much thirstier. Plus the xB has more room and better acceleration for the same price. I just find that people are always attacking the xB over very small spec differences with the competition.
Level 12:35PM (3/13/2009)
To be perfectly honest. I did not even look at the spec did not even looked at the mpg did not even look which carried more space. Why does it always has to come down to that? I based my judgment purely on exterior design.The rest is irrelevant to me, If I wanted the most space better performance I'd buy a minivan. The Kia Soul looks a lot better then the xB even the Nissan Cube has more style going for it then the xB. The first US xB had a character this new xB lost it , toooo bland....Even the soon to be new to the US Ford Transit has more character then the xB....as for what inspired what, jdm has had squared cars like these as far as I can remember...Even the new Nissan Cube has been relatively the same for years now longer then the xB or Soul dont low ball saying they are copy cats...It is what it is, a new segment...just like coupes, wagons minivan etc...
Frank 9:05PM (3/12/2009)
That is one ugly car.
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wolverinejoe80 10:09PM (3/12/2009)
how's so? You can't possibly call this ugly.
Brn 10:02AM (3/13/2009)
It's ugly, the same way the Scion is ugly.
Who wants to drive around in a toaster?