The Bark Side: Breeds & Characters from the Volkswagen Super Bowl commercial

How do we know the Papillon is Princess Leia?
Fooled by the fake ears, at first we thought it might be a mismarked Cavalier, but when you watch this commercial in HD, you can see her papillon ears when she turns. The buns/ears are just a wig. Her markings match Leia’s dress and her small blaze matches Leia’s part.

How do we know the Jack Russell Terrier is Luke Skywalker?
Luke’s lightsaber is the instant clue here. This particular wire haired terrier is colored very white, matching Luke’s shirt. The AKC does not have a “Jack Russell” terrier in conformation as the name was recently changed to Parson Russell terrier. This dog is not a West Highland terrier (westie) nor a fox terrier.

How do we know the Chihuahua is Yoda?
A chihuahua’s ears are very similar to Yoda’s, and his coat is the perfect color to match Yoda’s coat. Also, both the Chihuahua and Yoda are known for their small size.

How do we know this dog is an Ewok?
His cowl, color, and looks make this one easy.
This is not a particular AKC breed. He is a mix and could be part Brussels Griffon or part Affenpinscher or part terrier.

How do we know the Pug is R2-D2 and not Jabba the Hutt or a Rancor?

1. the shape
2. they are both mostly white with a colored head
3. the pug never barks/Artoo never talks
4. He is positioned next to his best pal C-3P0
5. R2 is too essential of a character to not be represented.

How do we know the Staffie is Han Solo?
The black vest over white shirt is very similar to this Am Staff’s colors and he’s next to Chewy. You can also see his blaster when the howling starts.

How do we know the Polish Lowland Sheepdog is Chewie?
His looks, bandolier, and voice solo. Wouldn’t it be great to have a dog that actually barks/howls like that?

Thanks to Andrew for the breed ID. He sent me pictures of his Charlie who he says would make a Chewbacca noise when tickled!

How do we know the black lab is Darth Vader?
This black lab is wearing Darth Vader’s chest panel. However, it’s difficult to imagine any sort of lab terrorizing the galaxy.

How do we know the Ibizan hound is Threepio?
His costume and color. My first thought was that he was Luke during the awards ceremony at the end of Episode IV: A New Hope, but Luke’s lightsaber on the Parson Russell terrier is too obvious. It’s possible this breed is a Portuguese Podengo.

How do we know the Vizsla is Old Ben?
This is the other difficult character to figure out, but we know because their coats are the same color. Also, Obi-Wan is too important a character to not be represented.

How do we know the Bulldog is a Stormtrooper?
His markings are very similar to a Stormtrooper. You can also clearly see his Stormtrooper blaster when the Havanese makes his Chewbacca sound at 0:36.

How do we know the Whippet is an AT-AT?
His costume. Also, this dog is not an Italian Greyhound.
* Around Halloween 2011, some great pictures of an Italian greyhound named Bones Mello circulated around the Internet. Here is his Facebook page. Bones’ costume was a bit more elaborate than the Whippet’s costume.