Autoblog

Volkswagen gets cute with the Piñata in latest Tiguan spot

Chris Shunk — Wed, 04 May 2011 14:57:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Crossover, Volkswagen, Humor

2011 Volkswagen Tiguan commercial - Click above to watch the video after the jump

The guys and gals in Volkswagen advertising have proven to be a clever bunch, as commercials like the Darth Vader Super Bowl spot have garnered as many copycats as any spot in recent memory. The Das Auto team appears to have pulled off more cleverness with a spanking new spot for the 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan, and we can see the spoofs in our heads already.

Hit the jump to watch as a young man with some serious anger management issues takes out his angst on an SUV-shaped Piñata. The little guy hammering away is funny enough (we wonder how many times the bat ricocheted off the Piñata and onto his head), but then the candy-packing vault turns to reveal... you'll have to hit the jump to see for yourself. Very clever, VW ad team.

Continue reading Volkswagen gets cute with the Piñata in latest Tiguan spot

Volkswagen gets cute with the Piñata in latest Tiguan spot originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 May 2011 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: VW blends print and mobile advertising to illustrate new technologies

Aaron Richardson — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:31:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Marketing/Advertising, Technology, Videos, Volkswagen

Volkswagen's iPhone test drive - Click above to watch the video after the jump

Volkswagen its flexing its tech-savvy muscles with a new form of interactive advertising that combines print and online media. They've written a new Apple iPhone app that shows how prospective customers how some of the company's available advanced technologies work out on the road.

To use the app, participants hold their iPhone above a VW ad in a magazine or newspaper with a road printed on it. Following the curve of the road with the phone shows how some of the car's safety features respond to real-world driving conditions.

Want to test VW's adaptive headlights? Switch on the app and put it in Adaptive Lights mode, and the headlights on your virtual VW will follow the curve of the road. In Lane Assist mode, the phone vibrates when your car gets too close to the edge of the virtual road. There's also an Adaptive Cruise Control mode, which puts a second virtual car in front of your VW and keeps them an equal distance apart as you move across the page.

Volkswagen's virtual test drive is a neat way of combining different forms of media, an advertising tactic likely to be more common in the future. As a means of figuring out whether or not you want a Volkswagen, well, we'd just as soon head to the nearest dealer for a real test drive, but for now, you can head over to the jump to see how it all works.

[Source: Volkswagen via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: VW blends print and mobile advertising to illustrate new technologies

Video: VW blends print and mobile advertising to illustrate new technologies originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Funny Car Commercial of the Day: Politically Correct Edition

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:56:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Volkswagen, Humor

Volkswagen loves everyone - Click above to watch the video after the break

Nowadays, being politically correct is of the utmost importance to companies the world over, and that includes automakers. Especially Volkswagen, apparently. Judging from the commercial pasted after the break, the German automaker - which just happens to have recently earned the title of World's Largest Automaker - wants you to know that everyone loves it cars, regardless of age, sex, race or color.

Volkswagen is also accepting of any sexual preference, and it doesn't care if you are right- or left-handed. Do you like to drive fast? Slow? It doesn't matter - the Volkswagen New Beetle is the perfect car for you. Or something like that. Click past the break to watch the video and visit veryfunnyads.com for more humorous car ads.

[Source: veryfunnyads.com]

Continue reading Funny Car Commercial of the Day: Politically Correct Edition

Funny Car Commercial of the Day: Politically Correct Edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Brooke Shields pretending VW Routan is NOT a Dodge Caravan

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Volkswagen

Click above to watch video after the jump

In what could very possibly be the worst auto-related commercial we have ever seen, Volkswagen has somehow convinced Brooke Shields (really Brooke, are things this bad?) to shill its new, at least to VW showrooms, ~~Caravan~~ Routan minivan. Apparently, what the people want is a badge-engineered Volkswagen version of the Pentastar minivan platform. In the extended commercial, Shields attempts to explain with a straight face that Americans are getting pregnant just so they can buy a Routan and enjoy its German engineering. Except that it's not German engineered, unless you count the fact that Daimler was still married to Chrysler when the van was developed. We certainly don't. Sure, the Routan's Chrysler-sourced suspension was probably tweaked by Volkswagen, and it's got softer styling up front to differentiate it from its Auburn Hills-based brothers, but those credentials are far from enough to call it "German engineered". It's likely that the Routan is a perfectly fine minivan, maybe even markedly better than the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country, but does VW honestly think people won't realize it's true origins? To watch the absurdness unfold, click past the break.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Continue reading VIDEO: Brooke Shields pretending VW Routan is NOT a Dodge Caravan

VIDEO: Brooke Shields pretending VW Routan is NOT a Dodge Caravan originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Holy... Safe! Could coarse car ads attract FCC attention?

Chris Tutor — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:07:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Dodge, Volkswagen

In its quest to clean up television, could the Federal Communications Commission go after automotive advertising? USA Today wonders how the cuddly-wuddly FCC may react to some of the in-your-face commercials currently being shown in your home.

The story cites Volkswagen's "Safe Happens" Passat ads as well as Dodge's Caliber ad (shown after the jump) featuring the foul-mouthed Binky in a Caliber focus group. "It scares the BEEP out of me," Binky responds to the ominous black Caliber.

Regarding V-Dub's recent crash-centric commericals, VW's General Manager Kurt Schneider reponds to USAT's questioning, by saying, "One of the most critical things was to have the dialog and whole scene be extremely natural. For anyone who's been in an accident, one of the first things you do is curse."

One of the next things you might do is buy a new car. Either because of, or in spite of the ads, lots of drivers have bought new Calibers and Passats this year.

The fact that the FCC hasn't brought this issue to fore, yet, may be an indication that either these spots are flying under the radar of the agency's boffins or that the ad's tactics are a drop in the bucket when it comes to foul language and violence on TV. Either way, it's a safe bet that we'll be hearing more about this issue as advertisers continue to up the ante in 30-second increments.

[Sources: USA Today, YouTube]

Continue reading Holy... Safe! Could coarse car ads attract FCC attention?

Holy... Safe! Could coarse car ads attract FCC attention? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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