Dive Brief:

• Kia Motors is turning once again to its music-loving hamsters with a video short titled "The Arrival," created by agency David&Goliath and promoting its 2017 Kia Soul Turbo model, according to a company news release.
• The video introduces the "turbo hamster" — a super fast baby version of the popular brand mascot — which escapes the maternity ward at a hospital while nurses frantically scramble to catch it to the tune of Motörhead's "Ace of Spades." The chase ends with the turbo hamster landing in a Soul Turbo filled with Kia's more familiar, grown-up hamsters. 
• The short launched online on platforms like YouTube and Facebook, and will appear on more than 25,000 theater screen this weekend through the National CineMedia and Screenvision movie networks.

Dive Insight:

Kia's latest campaign is being released in some familiar ad formats, with 15-, 30-, 60- and 90-second versions, but showcases the growing emphasis brands are putting on more pure, narrative-driven storytelling. The majority of the video is focused on the hospital chase and how it synchs up with the soundtrack, with the Kia brand name and Soul Turbo vehicle only making an appearance in the very last few seconds. 

The ad has a distinctly cinematic look as well, and Kia is giving it the Hollywood treatment with a massive movie theater integration over the Fourth of July weekend, which will likely earn it some strong chatter at launch. While previous Kia hamster spots have tied to Top 40 hits of their day like LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" or Maroon 5's "Animals," "The Arrival" spot goes for a more retro feel with the Motörhead song choice, which might stoke the sort of nostalgia consumers appear to crave.

The musically-oriented Kia hamsters have grown to be fairly iconic since they first appeared in 2009, with a handful of their ads racking up hundreds of thousands of views on platforms like YouTube.