A clever TV spot for Nissan’s Leaf EV earned an accolade from the advertising establishment this week, as Adweek magazine selected it as one of the 10 best commercials of 2011.

A clever TV spot for Nissan’s Leaf EV earned an accolade from the advertising establishment this week, as Adweek magazine selected it as one of the 10 best commercials of 2011.

The ad depicts a grubby world in which all the gadgets we use in our daily life are powered by tiny internal-combustion engines. A hapless everyman trudges through his day, as his alarm clock, coffeemaker, shaver, cell phone and even his office computer chug noisily and puff filthy brown smoke into his face. Greasy rags and gas cans clutter the scene.

“What if everything ran on gas?” we are asked. “Then again,” (as we cut to a shiny, clean Leaf silently charging) “what if everything didn't?”

It’s a brilliant ad, not only because it’s entertaining, but because it precisely targets the electric-versus-gas image that most people have in their minds, and that every EV marketer would love to change. This ad hits the bull’s eye squarely, using the timeless device of an over-the-top metaphor to depict gas-powered vehicles as what they really are – dirty and old-fashioned.

Image: Nissan