Greenpeace goes galactic on Volkswagen's Super Bowl ad

UPDATE: Some in the office (and in the comments) were wondering how Greenpeace got permission to use Lucasfilm footage in their parody. It appears they didn't, and the video has been pulled from YouTube due to claims of copyright infringement. We'll post an edited version when and if it becomes available.

You might not expect diesel-friendly Volkswagen to be a target of tree huggers, but apparently Greenpeace begs to differ.

The organization spoofed VW's award-winning "Force" Super Bowl ad by throwing some Jedi in the mix to take Darth Vader down a peg or two. It proceeded to liken VW to the Death Star and our planet to Alderaan (which was destroyed by the Death Star in the original movie, for you non-Star Wars geeks).

What's the group's beef? According to Greenpeace, VW lobbies the governments in Europe for more lenient emissions laws now and in the future. Also, according to Greenpeace, only 6 percent of the VW cars sold in 2010 were the most efficient available model, even though VW claims it wants to be the most eco-friendly automaker in the world.

Greenpeace even went to the trouble of creating a Web site, www.vwdarkside.com, to promote the idea and grab some followers for what it calls the Rebel Manifesto. You can check out the video and judge for yourself.

By Jake Lingeman