At last year’s Super Bowl, one of the most buzzed about commercials was VW’s “The Force”, which featured a young boy trying to control various objects, including a Volkswagen, with his mind a la Darth Vader.  Here is last year’s ad, which was viewed over 50,000,000 times on YouTube.

The spot proved so popular that VW continued to run the spot after the Super Bowl and followed up with a sequel this year that featured a Star Wars spoof at the end.

Seeking to gain some attention by riding on the campaign’s coattails, Greenpeace UK launched a Star Wars-themed microsite and viral video that sough to pressure VW to change its stance on environmental regulations in Europe.  It calls on the company to turn away from the “dark side’” and to embrace more progressive environmental policies.  Below is the viral video that was the centerpiece of the campaign. 

The campaign has worked.  The petition that is the center of the campaign has been signed by over 500,000 people, an accompanying Facebook page has over 75,000 fans, the video has been viewed over 1,100,000 times on YouTube, and the campaign has generated a ton of earned media over the last six months.

Nicely done, Greenpeace.