# What's the deal with the gerbil in the Kia commercials? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-gerbil-in-the-kia-commercials/522593 "2009-12-26T00:12:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-gerbil-in-the-kia-commercials/522593/1 "2009-12-26T00:12:47Z")
I don’t get it. What am I missing? Is the gerbil the symbol of Kia? Are they supposedly powered by gerbils or something? ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-gerbil-in-the-kia-commercials/522593/2 "2009-12-26T05:25:36Z")
(Hamsters…) Since you’re referencing only one hamster, I’m assuming that you’re talking about a newer commercial, perhaps the one where there’s a giant hamster peering into the window of a Kia dealer. It’s a reference to [this earlier commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFHCfwF87_o), where hamsters running in wheels (and going nowhere) are representative of people driving non-Kia vehicles, while the enlightened hamsters who wish to get somewhere drive the new Kia Soul. ---
**Author:** ![Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amber_in_Treasury)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-gerbil-in-the-kia-commercials/522593/3 "2009-12-26T17:18:45Z")
Richard Gere endorsement? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-gerbil-in-the-kia-commercials/522593/4 "2009-12-26T23:44:41Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > It’s a reference to [this earlier commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFHCfwF87_o) Are these adverting morons under the impression that we are taking notes! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-gerbil-in-the-kia-commercials/522593/5 "2009-12-28T04:27:54Z")
Hamsters are cute. Cute sells. Okay, so that’s simplifying it a bit. But that commercial totally pushes the cute button. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-gerbil-in-the-kia-commercials/522593/6 "2009-12-28T16:32:09Z")
I think it unintentionally emphasizes the point that their cars are small. Kind of like that one Jeep commercial of a while back, where it looked like a fly in a rainforest? “Look! We sell small cars!” Probably not the message they intended to send, but that’s the one I got. But the hamster certainly is cute. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-gerbil-in-the-kia-commercials/522593/7 "2009-12-28T17:16:53Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > Hamsters are cute. Cute sells. > > Okay, so that’s simplifying it a bit. But that commercial totally pushes the cute button. I dunno about that. At the part where the guy looks over and sees the giant Hamster standing next to him, what I really wanted to see was for him to scream in terror and flee in panic. THAT would be more realistic. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-gerbil-in-the-kia-commercials/522593/8 "2009-12-30T00:24:19Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I dunno about that. At the part where the guy looks over and sees the giant Hamster standing next to him, what I really wanted to see was for him to scream in terror and flee in panic. THAT would be more realistic. Yeah, and when you see the giant hamster (OK, I’ll take your word for it that it is not a gerbil) driving away, that’s just worrying. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-gerbil-in-the-kia-commercials/522593/9 "2009-12-30T10:46:06Z")
Maybe the dude looking at the hamster was on some really good acid. If I see a giant hamster looking wistfully at a Kia, you’re darn tootin I’m going to let it have the Kia!