the wackels elvis, dancing figure

date_range 25 May 2023

the dancing elvis or Wackel-Elvis elvis in German was designed 
to represent rocker Elvis Presley in the early 1970s. 
the Wackel-Elvis' costume resembles the white jumpsuit Elvis Presley 
wore on the television show Aloha from Hawaii in 1973.

This Elvis is designed to be attached inside the vehicle 
to the windshield or rear window of a vehicle.
 The figure hangs from a suction cup connected to an adjustable 
elastic cord which, at its other end, is attached to a loop above
 the figure's head. 
A pointed nail, protruding approximately 5mm from the sole of the
 figure's right foot. This Elvis is positioned above the dashboard 
or the rear parcel shelf. when the vehicle is in motion, 
the left arm extended away from the figure's body produces centrifugal
 force rotating the figure back and forth around its vertical
 axis. While spinning, the figure's foot is held in place
 by the nail and his head held in place by hanging from the
 string. Wackel-Elvis' left arm and hip swing in accordance
 with the movement of the vehicle, creating the illusion 
of 'Elvis Presley performing or dancing on stage.

Four injection molded semi-rigid plastic pieces mak
e up the approximately 15cm tall silhouette.
 Cast in one piece, the upper body of the figure
 including a static head is the most prominent part.
 The right arm with hand and microphone is also 
molded in one piece and attached to the upper body
 at the right shoulder by a snap joint with 
a square connector that holds the figure's 
right arm in one position static relative
 to the top of the body piece. 
The lower part of the body consists of the
 pelvic area and the two legs molded in one
 piece. At the waist of the figure,
 the upper and lower body parts are connected
 to each other by a flexible metal spring 
joint, as are the left arm and the upper body
 part at the left shoulder . 
The two threaded connectors of the 
spring-loaded joint at the figure's left 
shoulder are recessed, hiding the 
spring-loaded mechanism of the joint. 
The threaded connector on the lower body
 protrudes upwards but the spring-loaded 
hinge mechanism at the figure's waist is 
concealed by a deeply recessed connector
 under the waist and belt portion of the suit
 which forms the lower part of the figure.
 upper part of the body.

For safety reasons, the sharp nail in the 
figure's right foot has been removed from 
some exported versions of Wackel-Elvis. 
However, the missing nail can be replaced with
 nails found in plastic thumbtacks.

In 2001, German automaker Audi ran TV 
commercials in Europe promoting its new 
electronically controlled continuously 
variable "multitronic" transmission.
 The Frankfurt branch in Germany and the 
advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi
 headquartered in New York, produced the Audi
 advertisements featuring an Elvis 
impersonator whose car broke down.
The Elvis impersonator and his Wackel-Elvis 
were picked up by a friendly fellow traveler 
– played by German actress Karina Krawczyk,
 in an Audi equipped with the new transmission
. The downfall of the ads was that due to the 
lack of shifting motion when accelerating
 with the continuously variable transmission 
the Audi was equipped with,
 the Wackel-Elvis dash figure didn't wobble 
like she had done it in the Elvis impersonator
's car before it broke down. , 
disappointing the imitator.

Here is the video:

Following the success of this ad, these figurine
s were produced in large series and now we 
still find some for sale in our shop 
(link at the bottom of this page) 
but it is now the fans of American cars who
 decorate their vehicle with this elvis figure!

Also note that in view of the success of this 
figurine, other models of Elvis have emerged, 
there are 3 or 4 variants of them.. 
like this rock model of the penal colony..