Evian has a long history of incorporating creepy CGI babies in its ads, and an equally long history of viewers gobbling it up like it's some variety of highly addictive crack cocaine.
Riffing on the idea that Evian water makes your body feel youthful, the company first introduced us to its synchronized swimming "Water Babies" spot in 1998. (At least there was actual water involved.) About a decade later, Evian reprised the theme in "Roller Babies," a viral sensation (by 2009 standards) starring a bunch of tots skating around to "Rapper's Delight." And last year, Evian gave us "Baby & Me," in which adults breakdanced with baby-fied reflections of themselves in front of a mirror. (With 75 million views to date, it was the most-watched ad on YouTube in 2013. Congratulations, world.)
Now, less than a year later, the babies are back.
In a cross-promotion with the soon-to-be-released Amazing Spider-Man 2 (because nothing says Spidey like fancy French bottled water), Evian is re-introducing the "Baby & Me" magic mirror concept. The plot of "The Amazing Baby & Me" is essentially unchanged from the original—dude passes a mirror, sees a reflection of himself as a baby, and dances with said baby to an obnoxious song. Except this time, the "dude" is Spider-Man, and his mini-me is (presumably) is a baby in a Spidey suit. (I mean, we don't actually know what's under the suit. It could be a very small adult. Or an alien. Or a robot.)
And that's it. No explanation of what this has to do with Evian, apart from the brand's "Live Young" tagline at the end. We don't even get to see Spider-Baby's cute little face. (That's why people like these ads, right? Because babies are cute?)
Welcome to your most-watched YouTube ad of 2014.
CREDITS
Client: Evian
Agency: BETC Paris
Director: Tomas Skoging, Acne