Kia Motors America brings back its Soul ad campaign featuring a trio of music-loving hamsters. The Soul urban passenger vehicle was presented in 2009 and caught the eye with fun ads featuring hamsters. A new campaign launches this weekend with the debut of a new 60-second spot for the significantly redesigned 2012 Soul.

Summer hit ‘Party Rock Anthem,» by electro-pop group LMFAO accompanies the ‘Share Some Soul’ video. The spot shows a futuristic videogame world in which the hamsters turn a fierce battle between alien robots into a dance party.

«The success and popularity of the Soul continues to grow and attract new customers to the Kia brand, and with music playing an important role in our marketing efforts it is the perfect time for the hamsters to return for a third installment featuring the infectious sounds of LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock Anthem’ to highlight the 2012 Soul’s new attributes,» said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing & communications, KMA. «After just two model years, the Soul receives significant technology improvements for the 2012 model year and delivers class-leading power and fuel efficiency. Our new multifaceted campaign will continue to raise consumer awareness, perception and consideration for the Kia brand through online engagement, experiential activations and TV.»

Created by David&Goliath, the spot will appear on TV on August 28 during the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) and will launch in cinemas across the country on September 2. 30-second versions will be available on network and cable television beginning September 5 and the campaign will also have a presence on Facebook, Kia.com and YouTube. By the way, users have a chance to win a brand new Soul on Facebook till August 31.

Beginning mid-September, consumers will be invited to participate in a LMFAO-inspired ‘shuffle’ dance video submission contest on the Kia Soul YouTube and Facebook for a chance to win cash and other surprise prizes.

‘Share Some Soul’ is the third in a series of award-winning Kia Soul campaigns following ‘A New Way to Roll’ and ‘This or That,’ both of which received numerous accolades including Nielsen’s ‘Automotive Ad of the Year’ two years in a row and Silver and Gold Effie awards.

The 2012 Soul was unveiled at the New York International Auto Show. The vehicle has a new 2.0-liter engine, delivers a class-leading 164 horsepower2 (an increase of 22 horsepower over the previous model year), and a 1.6-liter engine offers 138 horsepower (an increase of 16 horsepower) and fuel-saving and emissions reducing gasoline direct injection (GDI) technology.

Three trims of the new car are available—Soul, Soul+ and Soul!—all have updated exterior design with new headlamps, taillights, side mirrors and wheels. Interiors are also upgraded. Significantly better noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) reduction qualities, a more refined ride and many new standard features are other characteristics of the car.

In July, Kia Soul asked ‘Who is next?’ inviting users to participate in a video contest.