True story: “Smaht Pahk” was inspired by the Boston Celtics and my dad, a man with Massachusetts roots and a deep love for the Commonwealth.
The task: promote the 2020 Sonata’s Remote Smart Parking Assist feature during the Super Bowl.
How it happened: After taking a concepting break, I tuned into the Boston Celtics game (I’m a huge fan, thanks to my dad) where the serendipitously named Marcus Smart was being showered with praise by Celtics legend/color commentator/local Boston mascot Tommy Heinsohn.
“What a play by Maaaaaacus Smaaaaht,” Heinsohn exclaimed with his thick Boston accent.
Bing. The proverbial light bulb goes off. I could see "Boston accent" flashing in neon lights as far as the eye could see. Visions of Matt Damon in a Harvard bar with Casey Affleck telling co-eds that his “boy’s wicked smaht” audibly echoed in my brain.
A few dashes of dialect later, the first draft was written.
The rest, as they say, is history.
RESULTS: The spot went viral, tallying over 60,000,000 views and 301,000,000 impressions. It paved the way for countless parodies across all platforms, with “Smaht Pahk” becoming a part of pop culture lexicon.
0:60 TV - Super Bowl
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“DIALECT COACH” - SUPER BOWL TEASER - 0:60