And now, a good VW ad
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjnOjICjkZg&feature=youtu.be&fb_source=message
(Interest declared: this was done by my friends Christian and Andy. Non-interest declared: it was directed by Ivan Zacharias, whom I’ve never met).
It’s a proper ad with a… wait for it… an idea. And some thought and care and intelligence. Fine craft too.
UPDATE: this link might have been removed. If so, find the ad here.
Very nice. Good to see a simple, intelligent, well crafted ad from the UK. There is hope yet!
Straight out of the Top Drawer.
Lovely.
Ivan – you clever, clever bastard. It’s a good job you’re ugly….!
Lovely ad indeed, but it smacks of this award winner from last time round:
http://lancepaull.com/Print/print_7.html
It’s awesome. Definitely better than the Super Bowl one. Hell, they would have been better off just using that dogs singing teaser as their main ad – even that was better than what they had in the end.
Smacks of? It is that ad. I still like it though.
Don’t get it.
It’s been done. Better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rv2-DYgzcY
@Pedantic Pat. Same brand. Same model (albeit upgraded version) different media. Seems like fair game to me.
My only concern is that by clinging so strongly to the past heritage, they’re dating what seems like quite a modern, swanky car. Compare this to the new Honda “Spark” ad & the Beetle already seems old-fashioned.
Very good. Has that (positive) “Why hasn’t this been done before quality.”
(Despite that print ad)
Best VW ad since night drive. Well done boys.
This is great. Well done boys. Like the good VW ads of old. Not the ‘I want to self harm’ VW ads of recent years.
Now THAT is an ad about a car. Not an ad for dog or galaxy far, far away masquerading as an ad for a car. I wish I had done it.
I really like the Merc one. The VW spot is too much about the car owners being good as apposed to the car.
Really???
Ben.
This is a perfect example of why I don’t think you judge work well.
This is advertising naval gazing.
You judge work solely like the industry judges work.
You’re as bad as all the awards you hate.
I’m not saying that we say we should judge work like the public do. E.g. “I love that ‘we buyanycar.com ad, it’s really catchy”.
Moreover, I mean does my Mum really look at this ad and go “WOW WHAT A FUCKING GREAT AD. NANA HAVE YOU SEEN THIS THEY BASICALLY HAVE THIS RESURRECTION THING GOING ON THAT AD GUYS BARELY GET OR THING IS VAGUELY FUCKING GOOD”.
No.
They don’t.
You like this because you like the idea of selling it in, making it, and doing something fucking obtuse.
Does this fuck make any difference to business.
It’s barely entertaining.
It’s an advertising wank fest. Where we can all wank each other off. Then award some awards that wank each other off.
Navel Gazer,
This isn’t just another ad: it’s a VW ad. I’m not saying that makes it special but I’m saying that it has to fit within the context of that particular brand and its advertising.
So far, that has been intelligent, obtuse (if that’s the word you want to use) and beautifully crafted, just like this. If VW did Meerkat or T-Mobile or any of the other very popular ads of recent years then it wouldn’t fit with their brand. It’d be closer to something more mainstream, like Ford.
So I don’t know what your mum thinks when she sees this ad. Is it aimed at her? (I have a feeling that if she calls anyone in her family ‘Nana’ then it may not be.)
The fact that it seems like an award-friendly ad might have something to do with the heritage of VW advertising down the years and the fact that it has won so many awards.
After all, what came first, the awards or the advertising?
Bit defensive there Ben, are we not. Post makes some good points. The “Nana” comment was a bit of a cheap shot, and, I
would venture, inaccurate.
I love this ad, and judging it purely as a car advert I think it is far superior to the Ferris Bueller one. I think that was supposed to sell a car?
However, when you take into account that the Honda ad has nearly 9 million views on YouTube already! Not to mention the vast amount of free media coverage and word of mouth that it’s going to get, I start to question myself.
On one hand I don’t think the Honda ad does a good job of selling the car, for a number of reasons, too many to list. Yet I can’t help but think it’s going to have more of an impact and effect than this, very nice VW spot.
Makes me start to think that doing stuff that’s going to spread like wildfire is more important these days.
I’m interested to hear your view Ben.
if you spread a shit across the world.
the world is covered in shit.
much better to spread some gold to a few thousand people.
i bet 98% of those people who are covered in shit aren’t too happy with a piece of their childhood being butt fucked by a group of sailors on shore leave.
I See You Jimmy – YouTube hits are no measure of how good an ad is, just of how many people watched it. In the CRV ad, the car is like a fart at a party. You could make a film of kittens singing ‘my way’ whilst doing a tap dance, stick a CRV at the end and it might get 20m views. That’s twice as many as the Ferris ad, but even shitter as a piece of advertising. In the opinion of this old-fashioned ad-man, the measure of how good an ad is – where does it takes the people who see it? – how does it modify the perception or understanding of the product or brand that it’s promoting. And how does it move people closer to buying? Not how many spods watched it.
Hi Ciaran,
I guess one man’s defensive is another man’s reasonably argued. Maybe the ‘Nana’ comment was a bit cheap. If anyone is offended by it, I apologise (although I still have that feeling. Can’t seem to shake it).
My ability to judge ads is being called into question, but what NAVEL GAZER said isn’t true. I don’t judge ads solely on their awards potential. I judge them in the context of who they’re from and what I think they’re trying to achieve. Check the Ferris post: I concede that the hits I See You Jimmy mentions are a target for this ad and are being gained in great numbers, but I also see the possibility, as I felt it, of people being alienated by one of their favourite films being corrupted for commercial exploitation.
This VW ad is a direct descendant of most VW ads, which means it ought to be witty and understated. If that’s the kind of thing that wins awards then so be it (for the record, I don’t care how many awards it will or won’t win).
I dislike plenty of awarded ads (you’ll have to check through the blog for examples) and like a fair number of ads that will never win awards (ditto). But at the end of the day I just like what I like. Sorry about that.
And I don’t think NAVEL GAZER or you make any good points, but feel free to continue making them.
What a strange argument, Navel Gazer. The VW ad is good because it’s true to the brand’s heritage.
It’s advertising like this that’s the reason you think of VW differently than you do Ford or Renault. And it’s one of the reasons people pay a premium for owning one.
That makes it a good ad.
Ben, I’ve not joined NG in attacking your ability to judge ads (he said, defensively). Rather, pointing out that I felt NG made some good points (judging ads in context – see DT’s blog recently – awards, and etc). And while you were too polite to mention it, I do object very strongly to his criticism of wanking.
This ad is good. Not great. Ben is right – it does have an idea in it. Hardly a reason to get giddy like some of you are on here.
Ivan always gives his ads that ‘advertising wankfest’ glossy effect. It works on some of his ads, but not all of them.
The magners campaign is great, but personally I think they look more miserable than a fat ginger kid growing up in Blackpool.
Just because the latest VW ad has got Ivan’s indulgent grade allover it – doesn’t make it a brilliant ad.
It’s an ok ad. With an ok idea. Hardly singing in the rain…
This ad is an Arshavin a best.
So Mr Gazer reckons this is ‘obtuse’.
I find that odd. It’s ‘selling’ a car that logically should have no place in the market in 2012. The first ‘new’ Beetle was described as “a Golf in a bowler hat” when it turned up. This new version is probably better than that. But VW’s own Polo and Golf are likely better buys if you’re in the market and are looking for a contemporary car.
The Beetle exists solely because it plugs directly into the brand’s heritage. Customers are buying a bit of that heritage – re-made and remodelled for the current market.
So what went before isn’t a just nicety for this model. It’s pretty much the only reason it exists. An ad which recognises this – builds a bridge (however fanciful) between the past and the present will appeal to the customers who are interested in the car in the first place.
Will it persuade someone who hadn’t got “New Beetle?” on their shopping list? Possibly not. Will it reassure potential and recent purchasers of the car that they’ve made the right decision by re-affirming the lineage of the model? Yes it will.
And my (albeit limited) appreciation of (car) advertising says that this is one of the most important jobs it needs to do.
There. I said it. What?
Where did NG talk about judging ads in context?
The rest just seemed like a bit of an aimless rant. How does the ‘buy any car’ stuff lead to the ‘Nana’ stuff?
And you’re right: wanking is sacrosanct.
And maybe the ad is a bit of an Arshavin but these days we leap on a drink of water in the desert.
Specifically on this VW ad though. I don’t see why it’s an advertising wank-fest? It’s an ad ultimately about how great the original beetle was, how it became a part of peoples’ lives, and trying to imbue the new model with some of that magic. I think it works, well. Hats off to all involved.
Naval gazer, you should of made this point when ben reviewed the avios ad – that was shit
Last note. I interpreted (maybe wrongly)
the whole, in caps, Nana bit, as looking
at ads in context.
Have a great weekend.
That bit seems to me like a dramatisation of the whole ‘ads made for ad land not for the likes of me and Nana’ argument that appears to be the main ‘thrust’ of what NG is suggesting.
Have a great weekend yourself.
Oh, and what Mr. Gash said rules.
And, for the avoidance of doubt, wanking is good for you. Official.
http://z6.co.uk/1iu
I agree with Mr. Gash and Sell Sell. Lovely work. And galaxies better than some kid in a Darth Vader mask. I think it will help the brand and help sales. Done and done!
what rob hatfield said. excellent ad.
i would have shown the reborn bearded or a similar guy in the new beetle for a sec. and whoever complained about the drivers. a car’s brand, like that of many products, also lives of the user’s… burberry, levi’s…
Ermmm… I know it’s a while ago now but wasn’t the Beetle commissioned by that Hitler fellow?
Doesn’t that sort of shit on the whole ‘past life being rewarded’ idea?