So I’ve been avoiding these posts all week because I’m whiny and this directive is hard. It’s one of the few so far that I don’t automatically have ideas for. It brings up challenging questions that I don’t necessarily know the answer to. Who drives Volkswagens? Are there specific people groups that do? Does the brand have an archetype? Okay, so I have to do some research. Something I’ve actually yet to do during the course of this class is look back. Even though my last (self-imposed) directive was flashbacks, I haven’t actually looked back at where the brand started or how it’s gotten to where it is now. What kinds of ads has VW run in the past? What image do they convey? How is it different from the image it conveys now?
So, fun. After watching more than twenty VW ads and reading (and reading about) some of their most famous ads, I think I know what archetype VW was: The Joker. Even from the very beginning, starting off with the “Think Small” ads for the Beetle, Volkswagen has been irreverent, mocking other cars and playing up their faults in comparison to the quality of VW cars. Then VW realized what a good thing it had: fun. Their ads were funny, their cars fun to drive, their look somewhat silly, and so they played that up. VW’s “Fun Theory” was so popular that it now reaches above and beyond cars or even advertising. They made everyday activities as fun as they made driving, encouraging silliness as a way to be happier.
But then, what is VW now? I think it’s the Joker all-grown-up. It’s still fun and playful, but it’s also responsible and safe and sexy. The new Beetle is “more masculine” and the Jetta is affordable and approachable, but VW continues to maintain great quality and driving pleasure. The fun is still there, it’s just a different brand (pun?) of humor. The brand has ‘grown up’ in a real way, it is both more mature and more modern and the updated Beetle etc display that modern maturity. I can get an idea out of that.
My vision here is a print ad of the new Beetle, a side view of a black one with a woman in a slinky red cocktail dress in the driver’s seat, one long leg and stilettoed foot dangling down as she opens the door and turns to get out. I do want to sort of recreate the old VW ads’ style of minimal words, maybe a powerful statement. “Not your grandparents’ Beetle” is a little to sloganish for me but that should be the clear message here. I really like “you wouldn’t put a big windup key on this one.” This works better because it’s emphasizing that the new twist on the iconic Beetle is a departure from the silliness of the previous models. That’s what they meant when they called it “masculine”. The new VW is SEXY instead of silly.
So I can’t photoshop but general idea minus the gorgeous lady:
It’s sleek and sexy and I like it.
Copy Write Paste 