Volkswagen has launched in Australia a new long -distance creative platform inspired by its legendary printed ads of the 60s. The first spot, created by DDB Sydney and directed by Toby Pike (Finch), pays tribute to Bill Bernbach’s legacy and the minimalist and intelligent aesthetics that changed a shovel forms of advertising cars.
The campaign seeks to recover the simplicity and visual ingenuity of the originals, adapting them to the audiovisual and cultural language of the present. The result is a piece for the new Volkswagen Tayron, which starts with a fixed plane that could have left a page of Life Magazine In 1963.
A few seconds, the camera moves and reveals that the scene takes place in a filming set, where the sausage dog that stars in the campaign crosses the plane and allows us to understand the length of the vehicle. A voice in off finishes the idea with a wink: “Two extra seats. For whatever. Or for whoever.”
“We were terrified of the possibility of being crucified for touching something so mythical.”recognizes Tom Lawrence, creative director at DDB Sydney. “But we wanted to find a fresh way to talk about the product without losing that elegance and irony that made Beetle’s advertisements unique.”
His creative partner, Samuel Raftl, points out that the challenge was double: create something that worked as much as audiovisual piece and in long static exterior format. “The first frame should be able to freeze and read as a classic printed ad, and at the same time, serve as a narrative start for the film.”
One of the graphic specimens that were made to promote the Volkswagen Beetle
The use of the sausage dog, turned into a cultural icon of social networks, acts as a bridge between generations. “We have already made the announcement with a Dachshund. Maybe the next thing is with Peterbald kittens”Raftl jokes. Beyond the anecdote, the animal works as a contemporary emotional element that updates the message without losing the volkswagen tone.
And it is that the piece has sought to respect the foundational principles of the brand: honesty, functionality and design without flourishes. To do this, the team insisted on doing everything possible in Chamber, without unnecessary effects. “We wanted to honor that feeling of realism that the original announcements had”explains Raftl.
The new creative system will be deployed in the coming months with executions focused on other brand models. But for Matt Chandler, Chief Creative Officer of DDB Sydney, starting with the Tayron was the logical: “It is a versatile car, with surprise, just like the ads that present it.”
