Animated Videos Tease Ducati Scrambler Release

It was 1962 when Ducati released its first Scrambler model for U.S.-only consumption. The Scrambler wasn’t released in Italy until six years later, and became an immediate hit. In 1971, Ducati expanded its Scrambler lineup of 250cc, 350cc and 450cc models with smaller 50cc, 100cc and 125cc versions. A year later, the company introduced an ad campaign for Scrambler that touted “Ducati Power.”

Featured in one of the print ads were two Ducati employees who worked at the company’s Borgo Panigale plant. One was a test rider; the other worked in administration. Their real names weren’t used. They were simply called “Franco and Elvira,” and an image of them on a Scrambler captured their enthusiasm and excitement for the model (or so goes the legend).

With Ducati planning to revive the Scrambler for 2015 – the unveiling is set for Sept. 30 in Germany – the company has brought back Franco and Elvira – not in human form, rather through stop-motion animation for a series of three teaser videos that involve the future, the Woodstock music festival, and a time-traveling DeLorean straight from “Back to the Future.”

The tale begins in the year 2078…

Franco and Elvira Story from Scrambler Ducati on Vimeo.

It’s at Woodstock in 1969 that Franco first sets his eyes on a Ducati Scrambler and on Elvira…

Franco and Elvira Story (Episode 2) from Scrambler Ducati on Vimeo.

Their stay in 1969 is short-lived, though, as they’re quickly transported to 2014…

Franco and Elvira Story (Episode 3) from Scrambler Ducati on Vimeo.

Is this an imaginative way to introduce a new model or what?