I’ve been thinking about processes and I might actually have to do another mind map about this because while we’ve been focusing a lot on the creative process, exploring other sorts of processes is worth doing too. There’s biological processes like reflexes, chemical processes like combustion, the grief process, puberty, life cycles, the water cycle; all processes. That’s a lot to cover in one post though so I think I’ll pick just one to focus on this time. I like biological processes, bio is actually something of a hobby of mine, and I thought it might be cool to have a commercial that nerds out about the process that powers cars the way that I nerd out about how neuronal impulses work. Why not explain that to your everyday driver? Internal combustion isn’t some complex mechanical wizardry that has to be a mystery to everyone except engineers. Maybe it’s just me, but having a commercial that teaches me something I didn’t know appeals to my intellect and definitely gets my attention. It would also be neat as a nod to the ad campaign explaining VW cars’ lack of radiator problems because they don’t have radiators, they’re air-cooled.
So how does a combustion engine work? To put it simply: repeated compression and explosion. Seriously. It’s elegantly violent. (Hm, what if the explanation/description was done in a really elegantly sexy way?) Basically, there’s a chamber where gas is pumped in then compressed by pistons, then lit by spark plugs so that it explodes and throws the piston back to the initial position in a great burst of heat and other forms of energy. This occurs rapidly over and over again in a combustion engine so maybe focusing on just ignition would be better? I’m not actually as clear on how exactly the process starts. Wait, what if I just did it the same way I’m writing this post now?
“Internal combustion isn’t some complex mechanical wizardry that has to be a mystery to everyone except engineers. It’s fairly simple actually, just repeated compression and explosion inside an engine. It’s elegantly violent. There’s a chamber where gas and air is pumped in, then compressed by pistons, then lit by spark plugs. From there, the mixture explodes and throws the piston back to the initial position which turns a crankshaft and makes the wheels turn. Pretty cool, huh?”
This narration could be accompanied by a number of different things. Maybe the narrator is someone famous doing a mock story-time while driving a really nice new volkswagen. I like that. The clips could be of everything besides the actual process the narrator is talking about and instead be things like the car making turns, or braking, or whatever. But it would start with the narrator in the driver’s seat, starting the car and looking at the camera on the passenger’s side.
I REALLY don’t like not knowing what I’m doing or where I’m going with a post but I think I need to step away from that need for control and let these ideas grow on their own, without me forcing them back into a shape that I prefer. Anyway, this ad plays with the innovation side of things because as much as car companies like to pretend they’re innovative, the internal combustion engine really hasn’t changed much since it was invented. This idea kind of pulls away that screen of pretense and makes VW seem down to earth and approachable. Decent concept, even if I didn’t plan it.
Copy Write Paste 