Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Volkswagen Beetle Commercial

Advertising.
Volkswagen Beetle Commercial
I saw this commercial for the first time on YouTube after I had heard about it from my mom.  It is one minute and three seconds long featuring the new VW Beetle.  This Volkswagen Beetle commercial features a man in a ski mask picking out items in a convenience store/mini mart.  While he is walking around, the customers inside are silently freaking out.  When he gets up to the counter to pay, the clerk tells him he doesn't want any trouble.  The man in the ski mask replies "I don't want trouble either."  He then pays and walks out to his friends who are waiting in a convertible VW Beetle.  There is snow all around and they are all wearing ski masks.  When he gets in, the man in the driver seat points out that he forgot to take his mask off.  They then hurriedly drive away to end the commercial.  The only clue the viewer gets as to the brand for this commercial is right at the end. VW is end the commercial by saying, "now everyday is a top down day."
The actors and actresses in this commercial are not celebrities because VW's focus of this commercial is not the actors/actresses necessarily but the fact that the new VW Beetle is a convertible and the weather is not convertible weather.  The main actor, the guy in the black ski mask in the convenience store, does an excellent job in selling that he has completely forgot that he is wearing his ski mask still.  While the customers are staring or hiding, he is nonchalantly walking around going about his business like normal.  The music played during this commercial probably could not have been better.  It leads up right to when he checks out and gives the mysterious feeling that we think hes going to rob the place, and then he doesn't.  While he is in the convenience store, the persuasive technique could easily be hidden fear.  No one wants to be in a store while it's being robbed or presumably robbed.  But when that doesn't happen, it moves toward the direction of a myth.  You assume that the story is some friends are out enjoying the new car with the top down.  Since it's obviously winter, they decide to wear ski masks since the top is down.  They get hungry, one guy volunteers to go in and pay and forgets to take his mask off.
I have not seen other commercials quite like this one but there is a very good possibility that it has been modeled after one similar.  I would definitely say that the target audience is the general one of whoever is in the market for a new car, but also those who love the outdoors, especially during winter with snow.  Now there is a car that you can have the top down in the winter and enjoy the beauty.  Personally I would not find this offensive and I didn't notice any stereotypes.
This commercial I think could be a part of a new VW advertising that they have decided to go towards.  Like the one with the Jamaican voice, this one is very memorable and keeps the audience engaged for the whole commercial because we are on the edge of our seats waiting to see what happens.
The more I watched this ad, the simpler it seems to be, VW showed that you don't have to spend billions of dollars on special effects and celebrities to post a good commercial and have it become very popular.  When i searched for this ad originally I came upon MSN's reply to this new commercial and I found what they had to say intriguing.  What MSN has to say.

7 comments:

  1. This post stood out to me because I adore this commercial. I think it is hysterical. I agree that this is a comical way to exploit the hidden fear technique. No one wants to get robbed, but this commercial is just too funny to instill fear in anyone. The music you referred to is actually a very popular song on the internet. I was surprised to hear it on tv. Thats what initially caught my attention for this commercial in the first place. The song is used on the internet to show someone that another person is "trolling" them, or making them believe that the troller is actually being cruel, or believes something obscure when they are actually just playing around. Here is a link to the original song. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt09ws_eduard-khil-trololo-song-official-video-yyyyyy-yyyy-yyyyyyy-yyyyyyyyyyy-yyyyy_music#.UUH8idY4JLM

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  2. I guess I'm the only one who is curious as to who does the voice of the ski mask shopper. He sounds like a young Tom Selleck.

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    1. I had NOT seen this commercial prior to buying my very first VW convertible a few weeks ago....I LOVE the commercial....and I LOVE the car....soooo much fun to drive!.....

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