Last year’s Volkswagen Super Bowl ad, starring a pint-sized Darth Vader, was an unexpected hit for the brand, generating buzz far beyond the game itself.

The ad was so popular that VW extended the campaign to dealer showroom advertising, and it even spawned a series of parody videos.

There’s a rule in show business that says never act alongside children or animals, as they tend to steal the show. Since using a child in a Darth Vader costume worked so well for Volkswagen last year, the brand is back with a second Star Wars themed ad for this year’s Super Bowl.

Dubbed “The Bark Side,” the ad features a series of dogs barking the Imperial Theme music. One particularly shaggy dog is dressed as a Wookie, while another is in an Ewok costume. Adorable though those dogs may be, the greyhound dressed as an AT-AT Walker steals the show.

We’re not sure that the same theme will work for Volkswagen two years in a row. There’s only so much saccharine cuteness that viewers will tolerate, and the whole dogs-barking-in-song meme was played out years ago.

We’ll wait until the big game to make our picks for winners and losers, but based on history and the teasers released so far, our money’s on Audi for the win.

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