We applaud automakers for finding new and interesting ways to market their wares, but Mercedes-Benz seems to have exuberantly crossed the line between advertising innovation and advertising weirdness. We’re talking, of course, about Benz’s bizarre interactive website for the 2015 GLA-class crossover, which takes users through a click/scroll/drag journey to help an amnesic “Ryan” figure out why he woke up alone in the desert next to a GLA.
To ruin the surprise, it turns out Ryan borrowed some guy’s bride right from the altar, and he and his new girlfriend gamble her ring at a roulette table, winning a bag of cash. The groom, of course, doesn’t like this, so he comes back to beat Ryan senseless before leaving him in the desert. This is where potential GLA customers come in—they’re supposed to aid Ryan on his Memento-like quest to figure out this incredible plot. Convoluted and slightly confusing, the story ends when Ryan traces down his female conquest and it’s discovered the GLA was a test-drive vehicle when the dealership calls asking why its car has been missing for two days. Ryan and his lady chuckle at this apparently funny twist, then declare they’ll buy the car using their gambling winnings.
- First Drive: 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA-class / GLA250 / GLA45 AMG
- Instrumented Test: 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250
- Instrumented Test: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E350 4MATIC Wagon
We’re pretty sure Benz was hoping the edgy story and unique presentation would enrapture the young, affluent buyers whose attention it wants to grab with the GLA. And maybe it will, but the experience pretty much left us wondering how many wife-stealing, successful gamblers there are who also want a GLA. Check it out for yourself here.
