Ahead of Star Trek: Into Darkness hitting cinemas tomorrow, car manufacturer Audi has released a new online ad featuring Old Spock versus New Spock in a battle of wits. And yes, it's gone viral.
The two-minute short pits Zachary Quinto against Leonard Nimoy in a race to a golf game at the country club – Quinto in his futuristic Audi and Nimoy in his banged-up old Mercedes, which he discovers is actually a piece of shit.
Tractor beams, black holes and even a Vulcan nerve pinch – the Star Trek references are all there, except the film is never mentioned. That's because Mazda is the film's official auto sponsor.
Audi spokesperson Andrew Lipman told AdAge they wanted to do a "modern-day comparison test" with Mercedes. "We wanted to highlight the car in a smart and entertaining way," he said.
And just for good measure, Nimoy even sings his infamous 'Ballad of Bilbo Baggins': "In the Middle of the Earth, in the land of The Shire, lives a brave little Hobbit who we all admire."
'The Challenge' was created by Los Angeles agency PMK*BNC and written by Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello of comedy duo Paulilu, who were behind the absurd DollarShaveClub ad, 'Our Blades Are F**ing Great'.
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