King Kong Volkswagen Commercial animated by David Allen

[bribribri56]

brilliant video

[sethmanrockandroll]

Wasn't this the same thing where they used Hammer's footage from their attempted King Kong movie and laced into a commericial?

[matbergman]

@sethmanrockandroll David Allen did pitch King Kong to Hammer Studios, but this Kong is original to the commercial.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

King Kong wasn't in color!

[J5MARLON]

Ridiculous King Kong wouldn't drive a VW

[TheMonetization]

great car

[SlavaSvarogu]

VW ruls

[chicoguapo2011]

cuantos años tiene este comercial???

[FlakeDodge7]

this ad proof my point: automatic transmission is for dumbasses (americans).

[MrsCrissAngel1619]

this is so much better than car commercials now!!! 

[WasteTime4Passwords]

I love it, put your girl in the front seat and your toy airplane in the trunk. lol

[slarge200]

VW-Fahrer haben mehr Haare auf der Brust und stehen auf kleine Frauen, oder was wollten die uns sagen?

[oYoYebutu]

Huh! Epic fail: the trunk would not close!...

[anton1990]

Jesus, did he use the original puppet?? :O

[cliffthelightning]

So americans admit there stupid? because they think if you can manually shift your a genious ... this commercial is proof lol

[PancakeWeek90]

I could imagine how many little cars would be damaged with that thing.

[Kinemacolour]

Well done.  I just don't like the narrator.

[TheAmazingmy]

lol

[Piatnitskysaurus]

40 people pissed themselves watching king kong as a kid.

[markingfeat]

This aid is so badly maid i know it is from 1972 but they could just do it with a familly driving it.

[CarBonkers]

The people running away after he came down the Empire State Building weren't scared of Kong, they are scared of the car! It' horrible!

[teerification]

Little rear engined shit box

[eimb1999]

@teerification : You mean the "Smart" car? That's a rear-engined shit box too. Definitely worse than the VW.

[Ryoku75]

This would make a great Hummer ad.

[ja3399]

I never saw this! And I am old enough to remember this car. I had a bug, though, loved it, and drove it 20 years. Thanks for this posting.

[Floxification]

White one!

[BarelyDeadProduction]

even a king kong can do it.....

[johneangel1965]

Thank you for posting! I am a huge fan of King Kong. In one of the King Kong books I have is says that this commercial ran 3 times before being pulled because it confused people about the SIZE of the car!?! Either it is not true or there is a pack of stupid people out in this world!!

[matus126p]

I like King Kong.

[sirhonestharry]

false advertisement. I've been in one of those and there's no way it could fit a 25 foot gorilla. Lol!!! :)

[Ryoku75]

@sirhonestharry I've owned a Type 3 and if these 411's are anything like them you're right, you need little hands to work on the engine too.

[mercurymadhatter]

How did they project the VW onto the city street in the all those shots?

[Ryoku75]

@mercurymadhatter That was a set, if you look at the other cars they're toys.

[Annihal101]

Imagine getting stuck behind that thing. It takes up damn near all of the lanes too, so you can't cut him off, and even if you could, who would want to cut off KING KONG?!?! That's just asking to get your head smashed in by his foot...

[Toerme]

Fuel injection? :O That's pretty cool for a 1972??

"You don't have to be a genious to drive the 411, because it comes with an automatic transmission also as standard equipment"

lol, like 90% of the americans drive automatic transmission cars... hint...

[Jarren202]

@Toerme Yeah, it was one of the first normal production cars to feature Fuel Injection (along with the earlier VW Type 3).

[OscarMoeRuffus]

Thank you so much for posting this

[MrCybershade]

Brilliant.

[dgeehef]

lol volksvagin toujours aussi beau

[hairypolack]

at .33 is that a guy in a suit or stop motion?

[998151147]

I think it´s a guy in suit. Also where he want to use the transmission!

[reddalek555]

@hairypolack id say suite.

[iangoblin71]

Nothing beats "real" artwork, actors and props...CGI should stand for Can't Get Innovative. Long live Jack Pierce, Lon Chaney, Rick Baker, Stan Winston, Tom Savini and TOHO!

[blackmii]

The best VW ever made still is the VW-Käfer =D

[drbotanus]

Poor David Allen. He was the greatest. Its unfair that he was taken so young.

If you look hard, you can find some earlier Kong footage he did with this same model and set up that is an exact replication of the movie scene. David timed it to the original soundtrack and a 16mm movie he shot off the TV. Genious.

[drbotanus]

However, I, Dr. Botanus am not a genius. Because I just misspelled it.

[obhboy10]

thats awsome i miss stopmotion movies there is no talent behind a computer screen....well some

[drbotanus]

Right on brother. The new Kong looked like a friggin PLayStation Game. People have forgotten what real life looks like.

[lighterinthestorm]

there is.. and stop motion is still used, Don't say what you don't know, because what guys do= upper maths.

[YungReg88]

If you don't mind, may I ask where you found this? I've seen it before except it was on a documentary.

[matbergman]

This version came off the Criterion Collection DVD of EQUINOX, released in 2006. I highly recommend the DVD. I also acquired a 16mm version off eBay. It looks great on a big screen!

[davidgrahamscott]

@matbergman Is that the film from the 60s? I had a super 8 abridged version of the film...looked great.

[vigotheunholy]

Awesome! I wonder if this is what color the 1933 King Kong was with that light brown fur. If you see Robocop, there is a parody of this for the "6000 SUX" car with a dinosaur.

[Juanjo3bg]

Second 0:23, the car seems to Porsche cayenne? :P

Segundo 0:23, el coche tiene parecido al Porsche Cayenne?

[retromaster2000s]

David Allen was awesome I love his work he was a master at Stop-Motion Animation.

[somethinglacking1]

wow, it really looks and moves like the original willis o brien '33 Kong!

[frenchbullfrog]

GREAT AD!!!!!

[QuiemVile]

I don't get why you would say FAKE?

[Moseslawgiver]

Okay, thanks for sharing that it's fake. I thought it was real. (rolls eyes)

[demonswoop]

The Kong puppet was built and animated by David Allen, who was later nominated for an Oscar for his effects work (along with Dennis Muren, Kit West, and John Ellis) on YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES (1985).

[DerTrommler3D]

That's a trivial fact that i had never heard before. Did you know that "Young Sherlock Holmes" was the first theatrically released film to feature a computer-generated character? That's probably why him and Muren won the Oscar!

[BrianSupreme]

By the way: It was one of the first porduction cars with an electonic fuel injection system ;)

[Gina2NYC]

AHHHHHHHHH Its the Democrats!

[clockworkorange9th]

why doesn't Godzilla get a car?

[DerTrommler3D]

He gets a boat because you can't drive to Monster Island! :)

[miranda140]

@clockworkorange9th because hes too big and a car big enough for himwont fit in ny or any other city!

[miranda140]

@clockworkorange9th because hes too big and a car big enough for him wouldnt be able to fit in any city!

[iceyg7]

the poor pilots. Do think they fell out, or got eaten by Kong later?

[CallumJStewart]

Is that a serious question? Because if it is I'll answer it, but I have a feeling it's not.

[AngryBuddha88]

kewl

[Spinoraptorrex]

I want that car. And that stopmotion King Kong :)

[GODZILLAANDSOUNDWAVE]

From what I know that stop motion Kong was perchased at this giant warehous in California that had old props from movie like cars and stuff. Infact one of the spiders from the missing spider pit sequence was found there.

[ProTwoAm]

Neat. :-)

[rabsmiff]

some of the early shots wee a test reel for a proposed HAMMER version of KONG that never materialized.

[warmecanic]

Awsome!

[johnissoevil]

Is that former WPIX announcer Ralph Lowestein speaking in this commercial?

[mooveeguy]

how did u find this?????

[bloodshed990]

1972 and such technology ... what can I say ... VW it the Thing! xD

[DrBreakfastMachine]

Cool commercial. And the Kong model actually looks pretty close to the original!

[jhrunion]

i haven't seen this since i was a kid. i only saw it a very few times then. i have heard that the commercial was pulled because they thought consumers would think the vw was much larger than it actually was. is this correct??? thanks for posting this. john

[GForceOfGroveStreet]

"The Volkswagen 411 4-Door Sedan", WTF, that's supposed to be a sedan? That ain't no sedan. A Passat, now that's a sedan. But to be honest, all this sedan, estate, hatchback crap is sooo confusing. They call the new Skoda Superb a hatchback. I guess it's ok to claim that a Golf is an SUV then...

[Rodan94]

ahahaah troppo belloooo!!!!

[megaman2160]

how old is this commercial

[matbergman]

It aired in 1972.

[LeggoMyMango]

that explains it =p

[simpleadams]

I meant to say though:)

[simpleadams]

Pretty good thought!!!

[ummi6]

lol

[yoweyer]

ECXELLENT !!!

[WARZONEfilms]

nice ad

[akira187d]

hahaha! Robocop totally ripped(spoofed) this for the 6000 sux commercial

[dodgecoronet68]

that VW car had tailight lens from an early VW Brasilia model. Actually, this car looks like a Brasilia, but I think it's called Fastback of something like that, I don't know too much about American VW models.

[justinliu18]

ERUM!!!!!

[adrienbrody4life100]

It's cool and scary @ the same time!!!!

[Ghanatoa]

I've heard that the Hammer footage turned up in the commericial too.

[Darrow1933]

Much of the footage was originally made as a preproduction test for Hammer Studio's proposed Kong remake in the late 60s or early 70s. When the project fell through, Volkswagen bought it for their commercial.

I believe the woman is actually Fay Wray's daughter.

[matbergman]

The Hammer Studio footage is actually different, and it still exists. This commercial clearly benefited from David Allen's prior work on the Hammer demo. The Hammer Studio footage can be seen as an extra on the Criterion Collection release of the movie Equinox.

[OscarMoeRuffus]

@matbergman can you post the Hammer footage?

[blackwidowstudios]

nice!!

[Stinger198]

great vid

[weprin2]

King Kong is cool!

[CarelessMudafuka]

lmfao! how king kong puts his lil airplane in the trunk, diz is funny lol

[JEWBEESUEBEE]

Wow! I have been waiting more than 25 years to see this after reading about it in a King Kong book. Far more interesting than the big, bloated and boring Peter Jackson remake!

[ecmbchickenman]

I used to think this was a new movie!!

[kurtongumenovski8]

hahahaha lol

[therealmadwombat]

Made of WIN!!!!

[Timsozai]

wahahahaha good animation by those poeple in old gen!!

[bsdnyc]

One of the greatest commercials ever made. The special effects are better than in the recent King Kong remake, where the CGI makes everything look like a cartoon. The final shot of the VW driving off is especially amazing.

[themegamega]

awesome cool ad!!!

[jumbobrain]

YAY! I've been hoping somebody would post this. I only saw it once, years and years ago and it's stuck in my head ever since. Thanks!

ps I think I read that VW found in surveys that although people really liked the ad, most of them couldn't remember what it was selling.

[kandora212]

that old commercial

[ursa41]

I love King Kong! I love this commercial! Well done!!!

[nemesis101307]

I'm a huge Kong fan and I think it's interesting to see different people's versions of Kong, in terms of the look of things. But as much as I love this commercial, I feel someone should point out the fact that the girl is a brunette, and all Kong fans know that Kong is partial to blondes. :) That aside, I think it's very well done.

[Sargebri]

From what I remember, some of this was shot as test footage for a Kong picture that Hammer was thinking about doing.

[trebdude1]

two of my favorite things in this world...classic King Kong and classic VeeDub. If only Kong had chosen a Bug cabriolet, though.....

[bobharry13bob]

And 4 big doors...HAHAHA

[g1mecha]

I wanted to see King Kong smash that volkswagen

[TECHKLEC]

I haven't seen a 411 in 25 years, theyv'e probably all been smashed in the junkyards by now.

[mm1kids]

I heard a rumor that Ray Harryhausen was pissed off because he had been overlooked for this ad. He had worked with Willis O'Brien on "Mighty Joe Young" and figured he was really entitled to make this commercial. I hope this isn't true.

[kuhnigget]

I seriously doubt that. In 1972 Ray would have been in preproduction on Golden Voyage of Sinbad. I doubt he would have cared to do a TV commercial, even featuring Kong.

[CaptainConfederacy]

That's cool. I can't believe someone went to the trouble of doing the stop-motion animation, especially this well.

Kong RULES.

[j0npeacesoldier]

I remember that commercial. It look pretty cool. Kong can now travel in style.

[Chuloloc]

Awesome.

[girltalkgirl]

weird

[javicoff]

gog amazing wow q bestia alucinant bravaso

[Broadway789]

From what I recall, this is the ORIGINAL armature used in the '33 KONG.

[SleazyMartinez]

Wow - always wanted to see this, it's brilliant. Is it true the ad was pulled because the daughter of a VW exec was scared by it?

[gkmaster25]

What a wus!

[Primevals1963]

If you are into Dave Allen. Go to the myspace page I set up for him. Its called DAVEALLENPRIMEVALS.

[pumpkill]

VW did a commercial with the new king kong (2005) remake also, maybe VW a big kong fans?? :D

[grazripley]

I remember seeing this on TV for the first time. Love it but I always thought Kong looked too skinny. He looked more like Son of Kong.

[JizniSpojka]

I have one of those!

I do think it's roomy, but that roomy?

[pylgrym]

Just beautiful. David Allen forever...

[rabsmiff]

I have wanted to see this for YEARS!---Iremember around 79, this was shown on KENNY EVERETT'S show-----i saw the first 5 seconds,-----and the coin-operated electric meter ran out!---by the time the TV came back on, i saw only the closing shot!------FANTASTIC RECREATION of THE fantasy film classic.

[HCShannon]

Girl is actually Fay Wray's daughter!

[Blendre]

Thank you so much for posting this. I thought I dreamt seeing it as a kid!

[iluvmyveedub]

Holy Shit!

I didn't know there was a 411 advert.

I love my 411's and I love this commercial.

[WeirdAlFanElvisFan5]

Cool.

[richragsdale]

holy moley!

this is awesome!

[matbergman]

I believe this commercial aired in 1972.

[eddiefuzz]

Its a great shame that Dave Allen passed away so young, before he completed his Primeavals project. I'd never seen this commercial before, thanks.