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By Carol Driver
Top Deer: Wildebeest Jeremy Clarkson and James 'tortoise' May present the Hyundai advertsIt’s the Top Gear presenters as they have never been seen before.
In two new Hyundai adverts poking fun at the BBC2 programme, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond appear as a wildebeest, a tortoise and, rather fittingly given his nickname, a hamster.
‘Top Deer’ pulls out all the stops, echoing the show’s videography, theme music and test drives for its Tucson Lx35 commercials.
Poking fun: Richard Hammond is portrayed as a hamster in the Hyundai commercialsIn the first advert's opening scene, the wildebeest - which has a Clarkson-sounding voice - introduces the show, saying: ‘Tonight, I get my hooves on the new Hyundai Tucson Lx35, Captain Cautious installs airbags inside his shell and a hamster gets lost inside an improbably large boot.’
The car is then taken for a test drive by the wildebeest, who – placing his hooves on the wheel, adds: ‘You get controls at your fingertips, which is great, if you’ve got fingers.’
It concludes: ‘Unless you’re 100 per cent human, this SUV is about as appealing as a hamster sandwich.’
Test drive: Wildebeest Clarkson gets his 'hooves' on the new Tucson Lx35
Mocked: Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson, and James May are the targets of the Hyundai adverts The second advert also mocks Top Gear’s mysterious ‘tame racing driver’ The Stig by introducing his animal doppelganger, with the wildebeest saying: ‘Some say his droppings contain traces of plutonium… all we know is that we call him The Stag.’
The videos have attracted more than 150,000 viewers on YouTube.
The adverts' shameless copying of the programme, which attracts more than 3million viewers, are bound to spark anger at the BBC - although officials are yet to comment.
It's not entirely clear what the motivation is behind Hyundai's mickey taking.
But a suggestion that it's revenge for Top Gear's describing the carmaker as, ‘Your slightly embarrassing Korean uncle. You know him - he's the one who's not quite as good at anything as most of your other relatives ... he's just a bit c**p' is leading the way...
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