Volkswagen’s Dark Side
One of this year’s most popular adverts is Volkswagen Super Bowl ad with the little Darth Vader and the new Passat. This advert has now been taken up by one of Volkswagens “opponents ”, Greenpeace. The film acts as a spoof but the childlike and playful expression has a far more important agenda. Greenpeace wants to bring peoples attention to the large sum (apparently millions) Volkswagen spends on lobbyism every year to work against laws on CO2 emissions that will affect corporations.
The main point in this debate is that it would be in everyone’s best interest to make more environmental friendly cars. However it is debatable if this can be done overnight. Innovation, R&D is expensive and it takes time to produce good results. Volkswagen wants to produce better, and environmental friendly cars, but the money to do so is required to come form somewhere – it is after all a business, not a whish-fulfilling factory. Greenpeace is known for a hard tone and sometimes extreme methods in communication, and it is present in the debate-generating spoof. See Episode II on the Greenpeace campaign site where you can choose to “join the rebellion”.
The Volkswagen Career Race
Volkswagen is currently inviting people with a competitive gene in Holland to compete against their friends. The prize is the new Volkswagen Passat, and you can win this by comparing (and outperforming) your friend’s info on LinkedIn. You will compete on education (degrees), recommendations and number of contacts, and as you gain points your head will grow larger. A hardcore business campaign for one of the ultimate business cars – and the biggest businessman will drive home. Play the game here.
Volkswagen Linkeduit from Fethi Uluak on Vimeo.
Volkswagen Demonstrates Innovation by Playing with Your iPhone and a Newspaper
If you don’t have the time to go to a Volkswagen dealer to get a test drive you now have the option to take a test drive in your newspaper. Volkswagen has developed an app to your iPhone that allows you to experience the newest innovations by Volkwagen – all you need is a printed ad and your iPhone. By holding your phone over the ad you control the speed of the car and you can “experience” the new “Lane Assist” when your phone vibrates when the car gets too close to the road side.
It can be hard to explain the benefits of a new innovation using only words, but Volkswagen has made it possible to display these benefits in a creative, fun and “childish” way. So don’t be surprised if you one day in the office see a lot of your colleagues playing with newspapers and their iPhones – it’s the future.
Super Bowl – The Advertising Industry’s Playground
Yesterday/this morning depending on where in the world you are, Super Bowl XLV was played in Dallas and at the end the Green Bay Packers could call them selves world champions. The winner of the Brand Bowl was Chrysler with an impressing 2 minute long film that paid tribute to Detroit as the motor city – and finished strong with the pay off: Imported from Detroit.
The icon advert from 1979 featuring Mean Joe Green was paid tribute in the advert for the TV-series House. It isn’t the first time that this advert has been “remade” – just to name one; the Coca-Cola Zero advert with Troy Polamalu that appeared a few Super Bowls back. The House version is well made and very funny – just like the traditional Super Bowl advert should be.
We end with a nicely animated Volkswagen advert for the new Beetle.
Joie De Vivre
If you are a frequent visitor to the Weekly Buzz you might be familiar with our enthusiasm for Volkswagens The Fun Theory. The purpose of The Fun Theory is to make people to change the way they go about certain things or their behavior – and making the change fun and enjoyable. Renault may have been thinking Fun Theory when making their new campaign “The Renault Mégane Experiment”. The very French Claude is visiting the small, dull, gray and rainy town of Gisburn in England to find out why the people are lacking “joie de vivre” – life joy or simply happiness.
The first few days Claude encounters a lot of resistance from the elderly inhabitants but after visiting a school Claude finds inspiration to bring some joie de vivre to Gisburn. There are some great moments filled with humor and stereotype-like reactions – perhaps leading your thoughts to Borat?
We have chosen to post the full version because we think it’s worth the time. If you don’t have the time you can watch some highlights on the YouTube channel. If you after watching the advert should find some extra time you can test your joie de vivre on the campaign site.
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