VW has had quite the ride. Germany gave us the car. Bernbach made it an icon. VW gave us three little words, Da Da Da, that stuck in our heads for months. VW also immortalized the feeling of youth and freedom in sixty seconds. (One of my favorite spots, I included it at the end of this post).
However, just recently, VW also gave us the Brooke Shields “Routan Boom” advertisements that left us confused, and in some cases, slightly disturbed. For those of you that don’t remember, Crispin Porter & Bogusky built a campaign around the fictional fact that people were having more babies simply “for the love of German engineering.” It’s no wonder that Crispin didn’t try to defend the business in the agency review.
Now it’s down to two agencies to bring VW into the next era, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Deutsch. Weiden & Kennedy was just eliminated. Undoubtedly, this will be a huge win for someone. But, it will also be an incredibly difficult challenge.
VW sold 223,128 units last year. Their goal is to sell 800,000 new vehicles annually in the U.S. by 2018. Considering the current economic climate, it’s clear their new agency of record will be under immense pressure. Throw in the growing demand for hybrid and fuel efficient vehicles, and you’ve got a tall order.
I’m sure Weiden & Kennedy was disappointed when they were eliminated, but I can’t help but think they are slightly relieved they won’t be set up for failure, reminiscent of their 1993 Subaru account.
On the heels of Saturn’s exit and Saab’s demise, I hope the widely loved VW brand will stay strong. To the winning agency, I wish you the best of luck.
Some inspiration…
Leave a comment