Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Driving our Car’eers
The latest Volkswagen TVC is an integrated brand campaign in India that aims to increase brand awareness about its four cars - Beetle, Jetta, Passat and Touareg.
The ad film opens with a shot of a young kid in a Volkswagen showroom, admiring the Beetle. A salesperson sees him there and offers to help him. The kid asks him whether it would be possible to book a car in advance, for his 18th birthday. The salesperson is caught by surprise, but yet is genuine in his response when he replies that it is certainly possible to book a car. The kid requests him to book a Beetle and the salesperson endorses his choice going on to extol some of the car's virtues.The kid then walks across to the Jetta and requests that it be booked for his 24th birthday when he turns vice-president. The next shot shows him at the steering wheel of the Passat, saying, "...and this, when I become the CEO." This cuts to a shot where the kid is given a glimpse into the interiors of the Touareg, with the salesperson asserting that it "dominates every road!"That' when the kid's father comes looking for him. The salesperson informs him that they've been planning the kid's 18th birthday, leaving the kid smiling. The film closes with the super, "German engineering. Made for India."
The child’s accent while he pronounces the word as addhavhaans clearly betrays a local schooling. Neutralization classes to be bundled with those piano ones ?
Since there is no attempt to make any clear distinction between each car seen, one would assume the differences and positioning are self-evident. And why not, the Beetle, Jat, Passepartout & Tuatara roll off Indian tongues as easily as these beasts themselves roll on Indian roads.
What a revolting kid ! His ambitions seem to be needlessly mired in the periphery of corporate boardrooms. What kind of lowlife would have planned to be a Veep by 24 and a CEO by 30 ? Since other than a smug visage, there is little to suggest that the youngster has planned and plotted to reach these exalted positions he rattles off with such abominable felicity.
The desultory ad redeems itself however with a Bollywoodesque touch at the end when ten gaily festooned rickshaws circle all the four cars-the aforementioned Beetle, Jat, Passepartout & Tuatara, and a robotic voice-over baritones “ Das Auto”
What a revolting kid ! His ambitions seem to be needlessly mired in the periphery of corporate boardrooms. What kind of lowlife would have planned to be a Veep by 24 and a CEO by 30 ? Since other than a smug visage, there is little to suggest that the youngster has planned and plotted to reach these exalted positions he rattles off with such abominable felicity.
The desultory ad redeems itself however with a Bollywoodesque touch at the end when ten gaily festooned rickshaws circle all the four cars-the aforementioned Beetle, Jat, Passepartout & Tuatara, and a robotic voice-over baritones “ Das Auto”
