EOC Week 1: VW Lemon Ad

 

“How could Volkswagen sell Hitler’s favorite car to the American people only a decade and a half after World War II?”

The Volkswagen ad definitely caused a lot of media attention back in the early 1960’s. Volkswagen is an innovative car brand that has been known to think on their feet, which is exactly what they did.  Volkswagen knew how much controversy this ad would have caused but that isn’t the secret behind it all.  They knew if they printed an ad like this back at that time, right before WWII, they would receive a lot of media attention.  People looking at this would view the luxuries cars therefore this could influence consumers in purchasing the vehicle.

“Most of these kids probably didn't realize the Beetle was born of war, but it didn't matter. They were too busy decorating the cars with flowers, "peace symbols," and psychedelic colors. Free-living hippies became especially fond of the roomy Beetle-based Microbus because it was so easily turned into a rolling bedroom.”

At the time of the release of the beetle Volkswagen knew exactly who they were going to target for their consumer market.  In the 1960’s the beetle was the new it car of the their time it was cheap to repair, adorable to look at, and spacious enough for people to sleep in, which happened a lot around the time of the hippy movement.

“It's not hard to imagine what happened next. Ad agencies up and down Madison Avenue began imitating the DDB approach to ad making. It became a movement that industry professionals now refer to as the creative revolution. It was in this period in the '60s when creativity counted most.”