LOS ANGELES–()–The power of the dark side made its presence felt in the advertising world this year when a Volkswagen TV commercial featuring Children’s Hospital Los Angeles heart patient Max Page, age 7, as a pint-sized Darth Vader amused consumers worldwide. Calling the commercial “one of the great crowd-pleasing TV ads of all time,” AdWeek magazine selected the spot as the No. 1 TV commercial for 2011.
“one of the great crowd-pleasing TV ads of all time”
“I can’t believe the commercial keeps winning awards,” said Max. “I love being Mini Darth Vader and hope VW sells lots of Passats.”
The commercial features Max playing a small version of Darth Vader, the evil villain from the Star Wars movies. Darth Vader is seen walking through a typical American home with the sounds of “The Imperial March” theme in the background. Darth Vader tries to make inanimate objects move by using “the power of the Force.” All his efforts fail until his father arrives home and parks his VW Passat in front of the house. Mini Darth runs to the driveway, stares at the car with arms parallel to the ground and magically the car ignition erupts – thanks to dad’s remote control starter – much to the surprise of the startled Mini Darth.
The metrics of the commercial were out of this world. After debuting Super Bowl in February, AdWeek reported the commercial received 44 million views on YouTube, a reported 6.8 billion impressions worldwide, more than $100 million in earned media. In addition to his success with the VW commercial, Max also has recurring roles on the TV shows “Young and the Restless” and “Prime Suspect,” as well as a Kay Diamonds TV commercial where he plays a mini Santa Claus.
It’s been an amazing ride for the young child actor who certainly had a very rough start in life. Shortly after he was born, Max was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot, which is a congenital heart defect found in children. The condition causes mixing of oxygen-poor blood with the oxygen-rich blood being pumped out of the heart and into the circulatory system of blood vessels, according to his pediatric cardiologist Michael Silka, MD, of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The cardiac team also implanted a pacemaker in Page to regulate his heartbeat.
“Tetralogy of Fallot occurs in about one of every thousand live births,” said Silka. “Max’s prognosis going forward is very good. While he cannot play contact sports like football because of his pacemaker, he can essentially have normal activity and with careful care, he’ll have a full life.” Silka said future care for Max will include replacement of the pacemaker.
The Page Family used Max’s new celebrity status earlier this year during the family’s week-long trip to Washington, D.C. to lobby members of Congress to support continued funding for graduate medical education at children’s hospitals throughout the nation. Max was a huge hit in the halls of Congress, and even shared the TV screen during a brief interview with NBC news anchor Brian Williams who was filming a documentary to chronicle a day in the life of Congress.
“What can we say – this commercial has provided our family experiences we never dreamed about,” said Max’s mom Jennifer Page. “It gives us platform to bring attention to children’s health care issues and that has meant the world to our family.”
Link to VW commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0
Link to AdWeek article: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/10-best-commercials-2011-136663?page=10
About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s hospital in California and among the best in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious US News & World Report Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. The hospital is also one of America’s premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation since 1932 with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. For more information, visit www.CHLA.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, or visit our blog: www.WeAreChildrens.org.
