Everyone Wins in Audi’s Awesomely Odd Spock vs. Spock Ad With Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy

A "Spock vs. Spock" ad should, when considered logically, be a complete nerdfest packed with inside jokes only Star Trek superfans would appreciate. Instead, Audi's new spot, "The Challenge," is a charmingly bizarre vignette in which two of geek culture's greatest heroes refrain from taking themselves too seriously. "New Spock" Zachary Quinto plays his part pretty straight, leaving plenty of room for the original Vulcan, Leonard Nimoy, to be straight-up amazing. With his chaotic mop of hair, gravelly grumble of a voice and inspiring rendition of "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" (from the actor's second album, released in 1968), Nimoy steals every scene of this nearly three-minute oddity. The spot was created by agency PMK*BNC and Paulilu, the comedy team behind Dollar Shave Club's viral launch video.

    

Audi Gives Us Spock Vs. Spock

Audi has switched gears from commuting with Iron Man to inject some ad gusto into another blockbuster franchise about to hit theaters: Star Trek into Darkness. The latest spot – produced by PMK-BNC – pits the wily veteran against the smooth newcomer. Spock v. Spock. Leonard Nimoy against Zachary Quinto in a battle of intellect, trash-talk, and automobile semantics. Quinto may be prettier, but Nimoy has an old-man game full of tricks up his sleeves.

The two-minute video promotes the new Audi S7 as the perfect vehicle for anyone in need of a smooth ride with technological toys. This may not be the USS Enterprise, but it can get Quinto to the golf club faster than Nimoy’s Mercedes, at least until the twist ending. The response has been overwhelmingly positive on YouTube thus far, and it’s a safe bet that sci-fi geeks will get a kick out of the Spock-off in the coming weeks. Can those geeks buy Audis? Probably not, but at least they’ll chuckle at the playful banter. Credits after the jump.

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