Press releases are generally terrible. This one, really, truthfully, seriously issued by Mercedes-Benz, is great. You could even say it's got catitude. And that's really all you can say about it.
Printed below, without any changes whatsoever, is German humor, at its finest:
THE MERCEDES-BENZ CLA: KITTEN'S GOT TALENT
The swoopy, feline form of the Mercedes-Benz CLA is set be the subject of a new, purr-fectly judged TV ad, launching this weekend.
The aerodynamic CLA is a car with cat-titude and the ad will be shown for the first time a whisker before 7.30 pm, during ITV's Britain's Got Talent this Saturday.
The CLA has the one of the most aerodynamic shapes of any production car – meaning it uses less fuel and creates less noise as it purrs along the road. By way of demonstrating its remarkable aerodynamic credentials, the new advert introduces a sleepy kitty to the CLA's swoopy coupé form, with predictable results.
The star, a placid tabby cat called William, didn't use up any of his nine lives, nor his cat-like reflexes during the course of the making of the advert – being specially trained for the occasion and docile in nature, having appeared on screen for nearly 10 years. Employing camera trickery and old fashioned props, William was able to slide on a piece of gently moved fabric across the windscreen under the careful supervision of his trainer.
Giving viewers paws for thought, the result is a simple, light-hearted demonstration of slippery aerodynamics in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFNwdi2-BGg&list=UUxlY6H0ejjbYc6ULjl1eOqA&index=2
ENDS
Editors Notes
- The agency who supplied the cats has 30 years' experience of working with animals for photography, film and advertising. Their pedigree cats have been specially trained for different types of work, more often using the natural behaviour of animals around food or toys.
- The cats in the film had a purpose built travel box on set, which was used to move the cats to and from the shoot and for the cats during shoot breaks.
- The filming with the cats took two days in total, with plenty of breaks.
The music used is "Duetto buffo di due gatti" ("Humorous duet for two cats") by Gioachino Rossini.
Mercedes-Benz is a car company in Europe.
Photo credit: Mercedes-Benz. Yes, they actually included a picture of a cat. In case we didn't know what they looked like.