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If you haven’t noticed yet, I rather like coming up with clever post titles and while I won’t get into the sexism, objectification, and rape culture embedded in the christmas song sharing the same name as this post, I would like to take a moment to embrace the spirit of the season that revels in the “bad” weather. “Let It Snow” is my all time favorite christmas song to sing and there are of course dozens of others that talk about the cold, snow, and weather around this time of year. Most people dislike it but I just love gloomy days. Yesterday was nice and all but 70 degrees is just too tempting. I don’t want to sit inside and be productive when it’s sunny and warm, I’d rather be out and about, which is exactly what I did yesterday and I didn’t get nearly as much done as I needed to. Give me cold, rainy, and overcast any day; that’s what really gets me into work mode. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting inside listening to fireplace sounds, cafe sounds, and christmas music. It’s cozy and chaotic and perfect for me.

I’m going to revisit an old idea that I sort of glossed over the first time, a family travelling for the holidays in a VW. This concept has become a reality for me because my family will now be travelling quite a bit for christmas this year. While I’d love to write this post with a fresh perspective after the two nine hour car rides we will be making, now will have to suffice. So my original idea went something like this:

A family is driving somewhere for the holidays in the snow. The kids are asleep in the backseat with a fireplace playing on the back seat video player (which some VW cars have) the mom and dad are smiling at each other up front listening to soft instrumental christmas music on the radio.

That’s really cute and all but let’s be honest, that is not how these things go. There is rarely that perfect quiet moment or whatever it is that commercials try to  portray. There are fights and spilled sodas, vomiting on pillows, tears, and six hundred “are we there yet?”s. There’s snow drifts, traffic jams, radio interference, and GPS issues. Maybe if an ad fully represented that but also said, “hey, your family may suck, and the drive may suck, but at least your car won’t.” Because seriously, the only thing worse than having to travel 600 miles with four kids on christmas day (That is going to be me.) is having car trouble on the way. I know about that struggle from firsthand experience too. It isn’t fun.

So an ad that portrays what a family road trip is really like:

“I have to pee!” “Again?? We just stopped half an hour ago.” “I didn’t have to go then!” “Can it wait?” “NO!” “Okay, okay, hold on for five minutes, there’s a rest stop ahead.” “Maybe they have aspirin for Daddy’s headache.” “Let’s hope so.”

“Can we listen to Frosty the Snowman again?” “We already played it seven times.” “Pleeeease. I want Frosty.” “Not right now.” “I WANT FROSTY.” “No honey, we’re listening to other music right now.” *cries*

“He’s touching mee.” “Jacob, stop touching your sister.” “I’m not!” “Both of you, stop fighting.” “He stole my crackers.” “I did not, you already ate yours and now you’re trying to take mine!” “Stop looking at me.” “I can look wherever I want to.” “MOOOM.” *sigh* “How about we listen to Frosty the Snowman again?” “YAY.”

“Mom, I feel funny.” “Funny how honey? What is it? Do you have to go to the bathroom?” “No, my tummy feels weird.” *vomits*

Narrator: With all of the hassles and problem of travelling for the holidays, make sure your car isn’t one of them.” *VW logo*

This is really fun and hilarious yet awful for anyone who has had to deal with this stuff. It’s realistic and irreverent and it isn’t faking some nostalgic holiday spirit or magical peaceful happiness. I almost like it.

Feedback has dual meanings in a way. Feedback could mean responses communicated from the receiving party of some interaction that can critique or help improve future interactions but feedback can also just be noise that disrupts a process or isn’t useful (like spam comments).

I’ve been thinking about feedback ever since Gary brought up leaving comments in class. I recently went on something of a commenting spree mostly because I felt guilty for not commenting before and wanted to give others some constructive feedback. On the karmic flip side of that, I haven’t really gotten many comments either. I know people look at my blog sometimes because wordpress shows me that, but I’d love to know what people THINK of it. It’s like getting people to taste food that I make, they might really like (or absolutely hate) it but if they don’t say anything, how would I know? Tasting it is only the first step.

I’ve also actually found that looking at other people’s work and giving them suggestions has helped me come up with more ideas, I’ve come up with a number of my own posts that way. It’s like a weird form of collaboration for me. And maybe it helps them too, I don’t really know. I hope I’m not just blowing hot air in my comments. I try to be kind and genuine with my feedback so yeah, I hope it helps.Moral of the story: feedback is a two way street.

I’ve been playing with the concept of two-way feedback between Volkswagen and users or drivers. How would it work? A hotline like someone else came up with? Or maybe a social media interaction? Hmm, is VW on twitter? Well I just went and looked, and boy could that twitter account use some work. Just searching the hashtag #VWcares brings up a somewhat alarming number of tweets about poor customer care and maintenance issues. While the official Volkswagen USA twitter does reply to some of these, it appears to be mostly giving people with problems links to their website or thanking the people saying positive things about VW. As far as I can tell, this isn’t really constructive two-way feedback and reads mostly like costumer service hotline prompts. Maybe they could take a lesson from Taco Bell. Social Media is a fantastic advertising platform, or at least it can be. Encouraging and engaging in feedback is a great tool for fostering a brand identity that Volkswagen USA is underusing and it’s a damn shame. They need to build that presence and my idea isn’t really an idea so much as a display of that improved feedback, but it would be cool to have a slideshow-style collection of tweets praising VW presented as an ad and formatted the way that reviews from credible sources are presented (Like the black screen with a narrator reading the quote printed in white). Doing that and saying something like “the people have spoken” is a fun way to maybe play up the idea that the users matter. It’s VW saying “your everyday motoring pleasure matters to us,” which is really what creates a recurring user base (besides having enduring value, that’s a major component too). People will come back to a brand they think cares about them.

Maybe this one is a stretch. Maybe this is making the brand something it’s not. I want to go back to the posts about fun and silliness and the things I want VW to embody. I’m not trying to change the brand here, that’s not my job. I’m just here to grow the brand. Maybe I’m overstepping and it’s time to backtrack to stabler ground now.

Advice is kind of tricky. Lots of people try to give advice, even when it isn’t wanted, and most people get insulted if their advice isn’t taken (looking at you, mom). Most advice is offered with good intentions. “Just trying to help” is a phrase I hear often. And I’ll tell you a secret: I’m terrible at taking advice. I really don’t like being told what to do and most advice kind of sounds like that so I typically find myself resistant even to the most well-meaning words of wisdom. I have a listening problem. I interrupt people. Hypocritically, I probably give advice far too often. I’m not wise or learned by any stretch, so I don’t have much room to talk, really. Anyway, where am I going with this? Well, poor recommendation is pretty common, so I figured it would be funny to play up the proliferation of ‘bad advice’. My idea is this, an ad where drivers talk about all the bad advice they’ve gotten related to cars and driving.

BAD ADVICE
“They never check these meters.”
“Ignore the sign, you can totally park there.”
“It doesn’t count if you’re only inside for five minutes. You have a time handicap.”

“Turn down this street. The one way sign is for the street we’re on.”
“You should get that airbag, it’s cheaper.”
“It’s the best radio on the market, you just haven’t heard of it cause they don’t even need to advertise, that’s how good it is.”

“Don’t fill up yet, we can totally make it,”
“I heard the tow-fee is half off on fridays if you flash the driver.”
“Just put the bottles in the back seat, they’ll be fine.”

“It didn’t really need seatbelts anyway.”

“Try driving with your knees when you need to apply makeup.”
“No, ignore the GPS, I know the way.”
“Go this way, it’s a shortcut.”

GOOD ADVICE:
“Get a VW, it’ll last longer.”
“You should read the manual for installing that car-seat, just in case.”
“It’s a speed limit, not a speed suggestion.”
“Be nice to the officer anyway, he has a gun.”

“Get a hotel instead of a motel. It’s worth the extra fifty bucks.”
“Trust me, don’t drink the tap water.”
“Look it up before you go.”
“Yeah, you should go vote.”

I like that each of these have a story. They could all be together in one ad or each could be a story line where the situation freezes or something and “BAD ADVICE” pops up. It could then say “but this is good advice:” and talk about VW.

So obviously a lot goes into making a VW car, and the “Lemon” ad campaign in the sixties really played that up. Talking about how many different people are involved in creating a car gave an old idea I had lying around a new shine. This could be done in both print and video, but basically it’d be called “what we’re made of” and it would be a silhouette of an iconic Beetle, but the silhouette would be made by people. Factory workers in hard hats, inspectors with clipboards, CEOs and designers and engineers and, most importantly, the people who own and drive VWs; all bent and scrunched and posed to make the shadow or outline of a VW car that they all worked to make happen.

For a video I had more of a play-up in mind, start with a shot of the shadow of what we think is a car but then zoom or pan or whatever and show that it’s really composed of cleverly situated people.

Here’s a cartoony version that could be the print one:

 

Well, this is what I ended up with. The concept is better than the execution but that fault lies in my drawing skills. It bugs me that you cant see the iconic shape really.

I’ve been having a lot of deja vu lately and I’m not sure how I should feel about it. It’s very strange and usually only lasts a moment or so, but I’m curious. So I did some research because, what causes deja vu anyway?

Deja vu itself is neurologically fascinating and there are a number of theories about what exactly happens that causes the unshakeable sense of recognition. One theory is that your brain is recording events as they occur and they can sometimes become a memory-in-progress so the brain is ‘remembering’ something as it happens. It could also be an overlap between the neurological systems responsible for short-term memory and those responsible for long-term memory. So basically deja vu is an anomaly of memory. What an interesting thought. Somewhere along the neurological pathways in my brain responsible for recall, there is a persistent short circuit and that’s what is causing my deja vu. An interesting and related phenomena is jamais vu, which is the inverse of deja vu where you experience a sudden unfamiliarity with something familiar (like all of the times when I look at a common word and it suddenly seems incredibly strange and foreign). Here I thought I had memories that were lost in my subconscious and would only resurface for a brief instant when really my wires were just a little crossed and my brain was confusing itself.

So how can I relate this to VW? I’ve been playing with the everyday in ‘everyday motoring pleasure’ because everyday things are generally boring, so maybe seeing them in a new light (like for the first time, or again and again with deja vu) can make for an interesting ad. Hmm…

There’s a Switchfoot song that kind of inspires me called “Faust Midas and Myself” about a man who wakes up in someone else’s life and I want to use a similar theme. So say a thirty-something guy wakes up one day, it’s a gloomy overcast day. He eats oatmeal for breakfast, goes about his commute (which includes sitting in traffic), has an uneventful workday, more commute, TV dinner, goes to bed. The same guy wakes up the next day and everything is slightly different. It’s sunny out, his girlfriend/wife is slightly hotter, he has a great hair day, he drives a VW instead of a junker, he doesn’t work in a cubicle, his favorite song comes on the radio during his commute and he jams out comically, whatever. Basically it’s a snapshot of how a VW would make every day a little better because it puts the motoring pleasure into your everyday. That could even be a slogan or something.

This is a sweet little nugget of an idea that I can see being much more fully developed as a series. It could be different people experiencing this phenomena (a stressed mom for example), situations where a VW makes something ‘everyday’ more pleasurable (like how Fun Theory improves quality of life by making ‘good’ things like recycling fun), or something else entirely. I’m leaving some loose ends so I can expend on the concept later.

So obviously I’ve been on something of a childhood kick recently but I don’t really care, I’m finding my inner child again and it’s enlightening. Anyway, all this talk of archetypes has me thinking a lot about fairy tales and bedtime stories. At the beginning of the semester I checked some books of fairy tales out from the library and while I haven’t really had time to read much of anything, I’ve been talking about them an awful lot. I did get the chance to read some of the stories by Hans Christian Anderson and I’m more than a little bit too familiar with the somewhat gruesome tales by the Brothers Grimm, so I know my fair share of the classics. And I can say there are definitely clear patterns. The male hero (usually a prince, knight or soldier) wins the heart of the maiden (usually a queen or princess, or else unusually beautiful) by saving her from some monster/villain/life threatening situation/curse. While there are some variations regarding the quest or trials the hero must endure, the end is most commonly the predictable ‘happily ever after’ we’ve come to expect (thanks, Disney). So what’s my point here? Well, I guess I’m acknowledging that there’s nothing really new here. My ‘guy chases girl and eventually gets her’ post (22) isn’t unique, really, it’s the same basic formula as every other bedtime story with a happy ending. But so what? It can still be successful at conveying a message (VW helps you get the girl 😉 ), it just uses a tried-and-true method to do so. One of the reasons the ‘hero saves the maiden from the monster’ storyline is so popular is because it’s universal. Everyone knows it and understands. It works because it taps into the desire for ‘justice’ and ‘true love’ to triumph over all that deep down, most all of us have. And I’m going to exploit that. I’m going to write a (potentially cheesy) bedtime story, involving a VW, using that strategy. Here goes.

A man and a little girl are in a little girl’s bedroom, with the girl (let’s say she’s five) tucked into bed in her cute little PJs and the dad sitting by her bed next to a bookcase full of children’s books. He asks her what she wants to hear tonight and reaches towards the bookself. “NO.” she demands, “I want to hear one of your stories.” “My stories? Those aren’t bedtime stories.” “Pleeeease?” Who can resist a five-year-old’s puppydog eyes? “Okay, but it’s going to be boring.” She snuggles into her covers and blinks at him with eager anticipation.

“Once upon a time, in a not so far away land, there lived a boy.” “Was he a prince?” “No, he was just a boy.” “Was he five?” “No, he was a teenager.” “That’s not a boy, that’s a big kid.” “Well he was still a boy to everyone besides five year old little girls.” he says as he gently tweaks her nose. She giggles and he goes on, “ANYway,” he gives her a dirty look as if she’s going to interrupt again and she giggles with a finger over her lips and snuggles deeper into the covers “the boy loved a girl very much but she didn’t know he existed.” “Why not?” “Shhhh, I’m getting there.” He honks her nose this time. More giggles. “The girl didn’t notice the boy because he didn’t have a nice shiny new ride like some of the other boys.” “You mean a horsey?” “No, those other boys had cars.” “Oh.” “But anyway, the boy loved the girl very much and wanted nothing more than for her to love him back, but he didn’t have a car, so she didn’t even talk to him.” “Ahww, poor boy.” “But wait, he had a plan. He decided he would get a car. He would get a car so that the girl would notice him. And so he got a job. It was an icky job and he hated it, but he wanted the money so he could buy a car and the girl would notice him.” “Why was it icky?” “Because he had to mop floors and scrub really old dirty dishes and other gross things.” “Ewww.” “Yeah. But he did it, because he loved the girl. Well one day, two years later, he dumped his piggy bank out on his bed and counted up all the money and it was enough! So he went out and he bought a car, and it wasn’t as shiny as those other boys’ cars but he loved it anyway.” “What kind of car was it?” “It was a Volkswagen Bus.” “What’s a bus?” “A van, like the one your daddy used to drive.” “Ohhh.” “So anyway, at school that next week the boy went up to the girl and asked her out and she just looked at him and said, ‘do you even have a car?’ ‘Yes!’ he replied, but she just rolled her eyes and walked away. The boy was heartbroken. He had a ride but the girl still wouldn’t love him, so that summer he took a roadtrip across the country and met tons of cool and interesting other girls, and one was even better than the girl who broke his heart, and they fell in love. And they even got married and had a beautiful little girl named Katie.” “That’s my name!” “Yes it is sweetheart.” “And did they all live happily ever after?” “Yes they did.” “Okay. I like that story.” “Me too sweetie.” He leans over the bed and kisses her on the forehead, “good night, Katie.” “Good night Daddy.” He leaves and as he softly closes her bedroom door and turns to see his wife leaning against the wall grinning. “I like that story too.” “And they all” he kisses her “lived happily” she kisses him “ever after” a long kiss and they break away grinning.

This one is super cute and yes I am too cheesy to handle, whatever. It’s romantic and touching and gets the point across. It’s basically saying VW helps you find true love. It’s lasting value and pleasure all rolled into one.

Let’s talk about expectations. Everyone has them. They become a problem when yours are different from someone else’s. They are maybe not what we want to happen, but they are what we have mentally prepared for.

I didn’t have many expectations when it came to this class. I didn’t have many friends older than I was and none of them were advertising majors, so I hadn’t even heard of this class until I got the email saying I had been on a waitlist and I could now register. Talking about it before the first day always went something like “Curiousness? What’s that about? I’m curious. (Hur hur hur.)” The people asking always thought they were being clever while really they just induced eye rolls from anyone within earshot. I would always respond with a gracious shrug because I too was curious. I didn’t really know WHAT to expect but I didn’t expect to be blogging. I always saw blogging as a way for me to put my thoughts and ideas into the world somewhat anonymously with small chance of anyone seeing them and an even smaller chance of anyone caring. But then here is this weird, uncomfortable, kinda out-there class that goes “hey, write a blog!” And I’ll be honest, I got scared. It made me nervous because this time people would be READING my things. And grading them. That’s a lot of pressure. I’m constantly asking myself “is this good enough?” because I don’t want to put anything out there that I know people are actually going to see and have them be like, “well that just sucks.” I have about ten posts that I just haven’t posted because they aren’t ‘perfect’ yet. I take criticism hard and it doesn’t help that I’m my own worst critic. Compound that with the fact that now I have followers and I get all itchy posting anything. Knowing that there are people who get an email every time I publish a post is discomforting.Why are they even ‘following’ me? Like, yes, I know how following works on social media, but my motivation for following people is always one of two things: either you entertain me or you inspire me, that is why I will follow you. Am I either of those things? Am I now required to continue being entertaining/inspiring or do I just ignore those people altogether and pretend I’m just rambling to myself? (Which is actually exactly what I’m doing right now, if you think about it.) I’m conflicted.
Not the point. *Exhale*
Done rambling.

So, expectations. What expectations do we have when it comes to cars? How can I talk about VW meeting/surpassing those expectations?

Well I don’t actually drive, so I’ll do this a little differently and talk about my expectations as a passenger. What do I want from a car (as a person who isn’t in the driver’s seat)? Since coming to Richmond I’ve been in three minor car accidents (no one was hurt thankfully) where the fault was not on the driver of the car I was in. Those experiences have put worst-case-scenario safety pretty high on my list of necessary things because other drivers are stupid and can’t be trusted to not kill me.
What else? I want driving to be fun, no matter who is driving or what the destination is. (Everyday motoring pleasure, anyone?) This means I guess a generally simple and straightforward interface, as opposed to something like the car from that Monster’s Inc short “Mike’s New Car”.

Even though I wouldn’t be the one paying for gas, I think I’d still want to feel good about a minimized environmental impact (I still care about the planet!) and so good milage and energy-saving features are preferable.
Comfortable seats, efficient temperature modulators, and a good stereo system. I’ve sat in too many hot cars with crappy vinyl seats and fuzzy, too-loud-in the-back speakers. Part of a good driving experience is the actual experience, and I’m not cool with poor quality workmanship that’ll crap out in five years. For me, enduring value promises a nice car that will still provide a good driving experience in ten or twenty years.

So now how do I present this idea? Brain blast! (pardon my geekout.) Let’s make it a ‘date night’! A girl goes on a blind date with a guy and we are privy to her inner-monologue about her expectations and judgements. She’s standing outside checking her phone her thoughts pop up as text. phone reads six fourty five. [He’s not late yet.] She gets a text from him and it says, “Guy: Hey it’s John, on my way.” she texts back, “What kind of car should I be looking for?” [Let’s see what I’m working with here.] “Black Volkswagen.” is the reply. [A VW? Maybe he cares about the planet…] She gets another text: “Red dress?” and glances up to see a recent Jetta model idling at the corner [Wow, that’s a Volkswagen?]. She walks over and he gets out to come open the door but she says, “I’ve got it this time.” and opens the door herself. He grins and gets back in. As she gets in the car we see a variety of thought-texts: [Clean car, but is it always?] Satellite radio is playing a fairly well-known upbeat indie song [Good taste in music, not too loud.] [Stick shift, so he’s not lazy and he knows how to drive.] She then looks at him as he smiles and reaches out for an awkward handshake and a “Nice to meet you.” (let’s be realistic, blind dates are kind of awkward). We see more thoughts: [Well-dressed but not overdone.] [Bowtie: bonus points] [Nice hair.] [Great smile.] “So where are we going for dinner?” He says, “Well I’m told you like italian and I heard about this great place downtown..” “Joey’s?” “Yeah, actually, have you been there?” “I love Joey’s!” He turns to his dash and holds his phone up to tell Siri, “take us to Joey’s.” [iPhone, reasonable. Not the stupid one either.] The car then links up to his phone and starts giving hands-free directions [Cool, he never has to ask for directions.] At a stoplight he turns and says she can change the song if she likes and with a mischievous grin she takes the phone and tells Siri to play Pandora. He shoots her a momentary look of mild panic as it loads and starts playing a station called “Christmas Favorites”. She laughs as he grins sheepishly “Christmas in August?” “I’m a fan of Christmas music, not gonna deny it.” [Honest, I like it.] They jam out to carols for the rest of the ride and he parallel parks near the restaurant using the backup camera. [Didn’t know they had those in VW’s.] [He can park too, very nice.] as they get out he runs around the car to open her door for her. “I insist.” She rolls her eyes and lets him but opens the door to the restaurant herself and holds it open gesturing for him to go in first. “I insist” she says sarcastically. He laughs and says “touche” as he goes in first. “Reservation for Baker.” [He plans ahead.] As they’re seated and their drink orders are taken he gets a concerned look. “Did I lock my car?” She shrugs and he pulls out his phone and opens an app and uses it to lock his car. [VW does that?] “What? you just locked your car from here? That’s so cool.” He then shows her the app and she plays around with it, accidentally setting off his alarm for a couple of seconds she blushes furiously from embarrassment and he collapses into laughter so she laughs too. She hands the phone back and says, “that’s awesome, not what I expected from a VW.” “Yeah, they’re totally underrated.” [Maybe he’s as underrated as his car, Katie didn’t tell me he was this great…] Fin.

That was fun. I don’t know if anyone else will get a kick out of it, but I know I did. It might be a little too in-your-face and not polished enough, but there’s my idea.

I’m a listmaker. I like lists. They help me remember things, organize my thoughts, and visualize what all I have to do. I’ve been making lists for a long time, and sometimes looking back on those lists is beneficial. Other times it’s just funny looking back and wondering what on earth I was thinking. I found a key chain the other day that I hadn’t seen since before college and when I looked at what was on the thumb drive, I laughed at all the silly things I had on it and shook my head at my high school self. Among the collection of desktop backgrounds and puppy pictures, I found a list that I had written a few years back. The document properties said it hadn’t been opened since march of 2012 and reading the perspective of 2012 Elizabeth as 2014 Elizabeth was enlightening for a number of reasons. Knowing what I know now and reading that list, I see that I was supremely naive and yet wise beyond my experiences. But what was it a list of? you ask. Well, that’s the sort of embarrassing part. It was a list of things I included in the description of my ‘perfect guy’. Yes yes, cue over-dramatic eye roll, I know it’s cheesy. But back then, that’s who I was. I hadn’t been in a serious romantic relationship yet at the end of my high school career so I didn’t really know what I was looking for. The list sort of helped me figure that out. I looked at relationships around me and chose the things I wanted in mine and some of those things still hold true two years later. For me, the perfect guy still has to be able to humor me and my antics, carry on a meaningful conversation, and talk about any problems we have. Some of those old qualifications also carry far more weight for me now than they did when I wrote them. I said that I wanted “someone I would want my brothers to look up to” and WOW that’s powerful. That standard, a role model for people I care most about, is a pretty high bar to set but I still think it’s one well worth setting. So now that I’ve background-rambled, let’s reel this back in to the goal of these posts. Since I like lists so much, writing a list of traits that make up the ‘perfect car’ is a fun parallel to the other list.

So the idea is a (check)list that qualifies the perfect car and obviously the goal is to show that VW fits all the criteria, but there are so many ways to implement it, I don’t even know where to start. Should I write MY list for what makes a perfect car? Should it be interview style, where someone (preferably not me) goes out and asks other people what their perfect car would be and then shows them how VW fits that? Should it be an actual parallel between the ‘perfect guy’ and the ‘perfect car’? That could be humorous.

Now that I’ve wasted twenty minutes on the back ground, I may as well actually pick an idea and present it. Let’s go with both the ‘perfect boyfriend/perfect car’, since that has the most funny factor potential, and the interview thing, because people like hearing about other people. So let’s have an interview-style set up asking women what qualities they think “Mr. Right” would have. For each answer, show how VW embodies that quality. Examples:

• “Listens to me.” Easy-peasy, VW has you covered with Car Net, which connects to your smartphone and enables you to do everything from ask for directions to check you VW’s status (locked, etc) anytime, anywhere. You’ll be constantly connected.
• “Makes me feel safe.” With everything from adaptive airbags to an intelligent crash response system, you can even be comfortable letting him drive (ha, reverse sexism) because VW cars will protect you from everything life throws at you, including lemons (ba-dum-ch).
• “My parents approve.” VW has been making great cars for decades, your parents definitely approve.
• “Takes me out.” VW can take you anywhere you want to go, whether you’re going around the corner or around the world.
• “Is eco-conscious/ cares about the planet.” (how hippy-dippy) VW always has the Earth in mind, with patented fuel-efficient Clean Diesel engines, hybrid options, and greener manufacturing processes, you can feel oh-so-good with your very own VW.
• “Is down to earth.” “Spoils me.” VW vehicles are luxurious without being ostentatious and with features like premium audio from Fender, you can pamper yourself when and wherever you’re driving.
• “Likes helping others/is generous.” VW’s “Think Blue” philosophy doesn’t just stop at making cars that are good for the environment, VW is giving back around the world with Think Blue projects like planting trees to sponsor a 10k in Italy and supporting the protection of wolf populations in Germany (dahwww).

This one was kind of fun, but it required more research than I would have liked. It’s kind of cool knowing so much about the brand though, since I’ve been keeping myself uninformed somewhat intentionally so as to not sound so ‘adverty’. This idea definitely manifested as an ad but I think I’m okay with that. It definitely focuses on the innovative design aspect of the brand, but in a fun sort of way by asking women what they want (in a man) and flipping that to show how Volkswagen provides those things. Not half bad, Elizabeth.