HERNDON, Va. –

On Super Bowl Sunday, Volkswagen of America is taking aim at replicating the buzz that a certain “mini Darth Vader” helped it generate during last year’s big game.

The company revealed earlier this week that it will air a Super Bowl advertisement for the third straight year. At the start of the third quarter of Super Bowl XLVI — which is being held Feb. 5 in Indianapolis — VW is airing a 60-second spot that will highlight the 2012 VW Beetle.

VW put out a teaser for this model in its “Black Beetle” 30-second ad during last season’s Super Bowl, using CGI of car’s insect namesake, a silhouette of the Beetle, and playing off the car’s insect namesake.

Of course, arguably the most memorable ad during last year’s game for VW — or any automaker, for that matter — was the company’s “The Force” commercial.

The spot, which advertised VW’s 2012 Passat, famously featured a pee-wee Darth Vader and the comical ad certainly gave the automaker a nice boost.

In fact, the ad was launched on the Web leading up to last year’s Super Bowl and has since generated more than 45 million YouTube views. Moreover, ADWEEK voted it the year’s top ad.

VW transitioned that strong attention to strong sales, as there were more Passats sold in the first two months it was available this year than the entirety of 2010.

As for this year’s ad, VW didn’t reveal what it will entail, but noted that more details will come out later.

“Volkswagen is excited to showcase the all-new 2012 Beetle on football’s biggest stage,” stated Tim Mahoney, Volkswagen of America’s chief product and marketing officer.

“The Super Bowl is the perfect platform to feature the bold, dynamic, and sportiest Beetle ever made,” he added.