Recently Volkswagon has been running a new ad campaign with the tag “Das Auto.” The ads feature a classic 1964 black VW Beetle named Max who in his quirky German accent interviews celebrities like Heidi Klum and David Hasselhoff.
VW has always been known for edgy and creative advertising. Heck, they pretty much single-handedly changed modern advertising with their “Lemon” ad.
I love the idea of the car interviewing celebs in a talk-show format complete with a band of weirdos playing on the side. And the banter between the characters is funny enough to make me stop my DVR so for pure entertainment value I would give these ads an “A.”
BUT. There are a couple things about the ad that make me stop and say “Really?” First, the fact they are using an old car. On the one hand I get it. It’s an icon that represents the whole VW brand and a newer Beetle wouldn’t have the same quirk factor. But is that the best way to sell new cars? To show the old cars? It’s like when a Chevy ad featured their old muscle cars next to their new cars. The new cars aren’t as cool. Don’t remind people how cool your cars used to be if they’re not cooler now! I kinda feel VW runs the risk of doing the same with Max.
Second, the fact they are using Das Auto (The Car) and saying it’s all about “what the people want.” While on the surface it seems okay and perhaps enough time has gone by but have we forgotten that VW was invented because Hitler commissioned Porsche to build something “for the people?” (side note: some say Hitler named the Beetle too.) Bringing the concept back to this seems a little creepy to me particularly when you are using the classic Beetle.
So overall I would say these ads, while not Volkswagon’s best, they’re still worth watching. Check them out here: http://www.volksbloggin.com/2008/04/16/das-auto-volkswagen-advertising-strikes-again/
I would have done a YouTube link but I think it’s funny that this site is called Volksbloggin!
It looks as though the Democratic nominee will be (or to borrow the language used for John McCain, “the nominee apparent” is,) Barack Obama. After last night’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, his nomination becomes a statistical certainty.
I would like to think, though, that it does not have to do with his “bubba factor.” This is where a presidential candidate tries to woo the public with his ability to act like he’s as drunk and stupid as the rest of us.
This is a trend in political public relations that has taken hold in the last 20 years that I truly wish would go away. It is telling of nothing to know that the President is a “regular guy,” “one of us.” I cannot glean what their take on stem cell research will be, nor can I divine what they will do to create a sane energy policy.
I can, however, understand their willingness to patronize people who make far less money than they do. I can also see how good of actors they can be, and on occasion, find out how much milk is at the store. George Bush Sr. got a lot of heat for not knowing this, but I can’t personally tell you the current street value of milk myself. The only time I see the price is when I’m throwing it into my basket - if it were $2 or $4, I’d still need it for my coffee, so it doesn’t really matter to me.
Presidential candidates - which of course includes Presidents - are not regular guys. They have very specific education and skill sets and talents. If Bill Clinton was really as dopey as his Arkansas hillbilly persona, the peace and prosperity of the 90s just would not have happened. Or could you see Reagan ending a day of renegotiating INF with some bowling and oat sodas? I think not!
We will get better leaders if we stop trying to make them act like us - they aren’t us. The last president who was one of us was Andrew Jackson - and even he wasn’t down at the local watering hole asking the barkeep, “so Sam, what do you think of this nullification business?”
It seems that some of the smarter kids in the music industry are really starting to embrace the way in which their fans access music online.
Coldplay just unveiled a new single to blindly faithful (and possibly deaf) audiences by giving it away for free. Despite the nearly intolerable, high-pitched wailing from Apple’s daddy that make me suddenly taste the food I ate an hour ago, Web site visits to Coldplay.com jumped 1800% after the single was made available online. According to a Hitwise report, most of the traffic came from an email service provider, which leads us to deduce that Coldplay has a sizable email contact list and is using it well.
Radiohead enacted a similar strategy with the release of “In Rainbows” back in October. Fans could pay what they wanted to download the album a few months in advance of the CD release date. Radiohead loyalists were required to visit the band’s Web site and name their own price. It doesn’t sound like capitalism, but the band made $3 Million. Hopefully Radiohead captured some emails too. :)
There have been other creative attempts to sell records traditionally still - like the sales “battle” between 50 Cent and Kanye West. But, perhaps the most business savvy of the new group of talented performers is Flo Rida. Yeah, that’s right - Flo Rida. The reason this guy is famous for one song (”Low”), is because that’s really all he’s made. He’s cut production cost involved with making a full album, made one amazingly popular track, and watched the currency pile up from itunes downloads and ring tone sales. Flo Rida has it taking place. Dude is my hero.
While musical talent reigns supreme and the truly great artists who maintain longevity in the industry still need some serious chops, intelligent, integrated marketing strategy certainly helps boost music sales. Thankfully, a lack of harmony between talent and ingenious promotional execution ultimately results in seeing the talent-less for what they really are.
This happened to me 10 minutes ago. I received a FedEx envelope unexpectedly. It’s from Infiniti (Nissan Motors USA). I purchased an Infiniti EX in late December.
Turns out, according to the letter enclosed in the FedEx, the window sticker on my vehicle listed a “rollover sensor” as standard equipment. Two questions immediately come to mind. First, what is a “rollover sensor”? Second, if you’re going to rollover, or already have done so, what good is a sensor at that point? It’s like a Google alert that says “guess what, you’re losing your ass in the stock market”. A little late.
I continue reading the letter…Apparently they did NOT include the rollover sensor in the car, and in fact had never planned to do so. However, because it was listed as included on the window sticker, Infiniti will immediately write me a check for $2000 or BUY THE CAR BACK FROM ME. Again, questions come to mind. First, how fired is the person that included “rollover sensor” on the window sticker, and how glad is that person that they work in the U.S. instead of Malaysia or someplace where I firing squad would be readying? Second, is Infiniti just trying to buy me out of a potential class-action lawsuit? Third, have I ever seen such outrageously amazing customer service and proactive public relations?
I mean seriously. The chances that I would ever know or find out that the sensor was not included is just about nil. And even if I did find out, Infiniti could quite easily give me a free oil change and I’d be totally fine with it.
But to proactively draw my attention to it, send me a FedEx, and buy my silence for two grand? Wow. (Ironically, based on this blog post they have failed to buy my silence, but maybe this whole thing is an elaborate social media experiment by Infiniti to trigger good brand buzz around the EX).
If the Web’s ability to spread news (good and bad) like room temperature butter on a hot English muffin has resulted in this type of corporate get ahead of the curve-ness, then Viva La Web.
