No creative team, no matter how clever you are, could make an elephant hump a car.

When pictures of a bull elephant using a VW Polo as a sex toy began appearing in the world’s media, adam&eve/DDB’s creative had a cracking good idea.

Hours later, a print ad ran in the Daily Telegraph in the UK claiming that the car has “Elephant Impact Protection” as standard.

The ad is funnier than the original. Bravo, adam&eve.

Here’s how it came about: 

When a male elephant is “on musth”, his testosterone level rise s by up to 60%. In other words, he’s horny as hell and not all that fussy.

So, when an elephant on musth in the Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa saw a parked VW Polo hatchback, he just went for it.

The tourists in the car had no option but to close their eyes and think of heaven knows what. (The ad didn’t state that the elephant broke the car’s chassis and burst its tyres during its quest for satisfaction.)

A field guide and lodge manager, Armand Grobler, 21, caught it all on film. Which was very good for adam&eve/DDB – and for VW. The agency used one of the stills for a carpe diem print ad that is sure to be a feature in the next edition of Remember Those Great VW Ads?