Lucky Star (advertisement)

Lucky Star was an advertisement commissioned by Mercedes-Benz in 2002 to promote their SL500 automobile. Created by advertising agency Campbell Doyle Dye, it impersonated the form of a trailer for a purported thriller feature film titled Lucky Star. Actors Benicio del Toro and Ana Cristina starred in the piece, which was directed by Michael Mann.

The 2½-minute presentation centres on Mr. H (del Toro), whose success in gambling and on trading attracts the attention of United States intelligence agencies, who are suspicious as to how he can be so consistently lucky. They cannot find any evidence of illegal behaviour but nonetheless continue to hound their suspect, eventually forcing him to flee. Pursued by the authorities, including a helicopter, through downtown Los Angeles, he makes a surprise getaway in his car with his female companion Evilina (Cristina).

The piece aired in cinemas and on television in the United Kingdom market, starting in July 2002. Participating cinemas aired it as part of the forthcoming-presentations block, after other advertisements, to further promote the illusion of a feature film; advertising rules only require clear transmission of an advertisement's nature in printed media. A companion "official film" website was also commissioned. The production cost for the entire campaign was estimated at GBP 5 million (then USD 7.9 million).

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