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Ever since the Beetle rolled into the U.S., confounding and exciting the American auto driving public, on Jan. 17, 1949, people have come to love Volkswagen.
To celebrate 75 years in America, Volkswagen is telling visual tales about the history of the brand and its ardent fans.
The campaign, “An American Love Story,” by independent agency Johannes Leonardo, is a tribute to the brand’s impact on America and the country’s impact on the brand.
A 60-second version of the spot, which will air in the third quarter, will be the brand’s first national Super Bowl spot in 10 years.
A two-minute hero spot expands on the brand’s impact on America as the Beetle is driven through the streets of New York in 1949, garnering looks of wonder as Neil Diamond’s “I Am… I Said” plays over the action. This hero film is debuting this morning at the Chicago Auto Show.
The scenes then move to show how VW owners have helped tell the brand’s story through their passion, with shots of people stuffing themselves into the little car (it was a trend started in the ’50s), hitchhiking in a microbus and attending Woodstock in the ’60s.
“When you look at when the Beetle arrived in New York 75 years ago, it didn’t have a place in American culture or society just yet. This, compared to other American vehicles at the time, was a little chunk of metal and an underdog in so many ways. However, what made the vehicles great were the communities and cohorts of Americans who adopted the car and wove it into their own lives,” Rachael Zaluzec, svp of customer experience and brand marketing at Volkswagen of America, told ADWEEK.
The film also celebrates Volkswagen drivers who shaped key cultural movements in America’s history, from surf and counterculture to civil rights and anti-war protests, to family life. The car has also permeated pop culture and entertainment; the ad nods to the Herbie movies, a Simpsons scene and Star Wars character likenesses, harkening back to the brand’s memorable “The Force” ad in 2011 from Deutsch.
In fact, Lance Acord, the director of “The Force,” returned to direct this spot, in conjunction with Johannes Leonardo.
“I loved the script JL sent my way. Crazy looking back, but ‘Pink Moon,’ the VW ad I shot with John and Val (the directing team Dayton/ Ferris) and my first project with the brand, was over 20 years ago. ‘The Force’ came 10 years later, and in the years between now and then, I have had the opportunity to work with the brand again and again,” said Acord.
