There’s lots of things to like about the new Mercedes Super Bowl ad. The tunes. The casting. The exquisite cultural references. The legendary Peter Fonda. The brilliant Coen brothers. Even the goddam car itself, and we never thought we’d be saying that of a Merc, the classic ‘old guy’s’ car.

But what is this we hear? Mercedes is using this ad to target the 18-49 market?

Mercedes 2

With the car, maybe. But with the ad itself? Most of its cultural capital will be burned like so much high octane on a younger audience. Don’t forget this is a car that gives no change from 300 grand. Who is going to be buying? That’s right – rampant-ego real estate agents, dodgy developers and – of course – guys over 50, who relate to the brand, love the car and love the ad. We reckon Mercedes should be telling people you can’t have an AMG GT Roadster UNTIL you’re 50. Now that would be a win-win.

Watch the ad at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvHFM8c7cPM