 in the late 1990s. Having become known for her globe-trotting, tomb-raiding escapades, […] "'Pin It")
These Lara Croft Car Commercials Are Total ’90s Video Game Cheese
Even before Lara Croft appeared in live action films as portrayed by Angelina Jolie, she was a celebrity. Having starred in multiple successful Playstation titles — beginning with Tomb Raider in 1996 — the fearless, adventurous video game heroine was a famous face (and body) in the late 1990s.
Having become known for her globe-trotting, tomb-raiding escapades, Lara appeared in a series of commercials for the Barcelona-based SEAT automotive company. Airing in 1999, these Lara Croft car commercials are now a nostalgic treat for retro gamers and fans of the franchise.
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Lara Croft car commercials
A subsidiary of Volkswagen, SEAT produces a range of economical, compact city cars but maintains a slightly sporty persona due to its motorsports participation. In 1999, Lara promoted the entire lineup in a series of commercials that showed her driving the vehicles on her adventures.
In one Lara Croft car commercial, she uses a Cordoba Vario (a station wagon) to escape a rampaging T-Rex, evades motorcycling assassins by driving her Arosa (compact hatchback), leaps over a canyon in the Ibiza (sedan), and picks up a group of shirtless surfers in her Alhambra (minivan). In another ad, Lara hops into her Ibiza at the beach and speeds back to the set of her video game when her vacation is interrupted by a real-life video game player loading her Playstation disc. Other ads involve her using the car’s air conditioning to cool off an old man who’s “overheated” by her beauty and a narrow escape in her Cordoba from avalanches and assassins.
If you think it’s strange that Lara Croft would advertise Spanish cars, you’d be surprised to learn that the fictional character promoted many products in her heyday, including Nike. So, promoting a real-life car company isn’t out of the ordinary for her. As the brand’s slogan says in the ads, “You are far from having seen everything.”
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