Leaking early, the new Volkswagen 2012 Super Bowl XLVI TV commercial has been released, and builds on the canine theme featured in ‘The Bark Side’ teaser spot, which we previewed earlier in the week. ‘The Dog Strikes Back’ features an overweight pooch called Bolt, who undertakes lots of doggy exercises to get fit so that he can chase the German company’s new Beetle. That’s all very cute, but where does the Star Wars link make itself known? Well, we won’t spoil it here, but there is a galaxy far far away-tinged ending, keeping the running theme from last year’s ‘The Force’ film. An edited 60-second version of this 76-second clip will air during the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday 5 February. Will VW keep the same theme for 2013?

Buoyed by the 2011 success of its Star Wars-themed ‘The Force’ advert (Adweek’s ‘Commercial of the Year 2011’, 44 million YouTube views, 6.8 billion impressions), Volkswagen is again going intergalactic for its 2012 Super Bowl XLVI TV commercial. Called the ‘Bark Side’, this 64-second teaser previews the full advert which will air on 5 February. Featuring a collective of canines (some ‘dressed’ as notable characters from the series’ titles) barking the ‘Imperial March’ from the film’s soundtrack, it’s looking like it will cause as much of a sensation as last year’s US Darth Vader-themed clip.

Volkswagen Polo ‘Unbelievable But True’ TV campaign credits
Creative agency: DDB India
Client: Volkswagen
Office Head: Rajiv Sabnis
Chief creative officer: Bobby Pawar
Business head: Anurag Tandon
Creative head: Rajeev Raja
Art: Sreejith Kadoth
Copy: Ranjit Sasidharan
Account management: Avik Choudhury, Monish Debnath, Aaron Dsouza
Films department: Michael Remedios
Director: David Popescu
Production house: Fleet

[Source: Campaign India]

In royal circles, 2011 will hold a special place in the hearts of many, due to the English wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Agence .V. Paris seem to have been inspired by the royal euphoria earlier in the year with its new TV commercial for the Polo. Promoting a special offer discount on the Polo TDI model in France, the 30-second spot draws heavily on 2011’s royal wedding. But, we bet that Kate Middleton had a team of ladies in waiting to ensure that a wardrobe malfunction like this would never happen…

Volkswagen Polo ‘Princess’ TV campaign credits
Title: ‘Princess’
Agency: Agence .V. Paris
Country: France

[Source: Great-Ads]

‘We have set ourselves the ambitious target of becoming the greenest automaker. Our products and the “Think Blue” campaign demonstrate we have what it takes to achieve that,’ Luca de Meo, Director of Marketing, Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, explained. With ‘Think Blue’, Volkswagen is addressing how individual mobility and sustainable action can be harmonised, including eco-friendly products as well as resource-efficient production methods. The TV commercial (above) creates a symphony on sustainability using the unusual presentation technique of ‘music painting’. The 60-second spot tells the story of fuel efficiency at Volkswagen, from ‘Think Small’ to ‘Think Blue.’

Volkswagen states that the name ‘Think Blue’ picks up the thread of the legendary ‘Think Small’ advertising slogan of the famous 1960s campaign which highlighted the way the Volkswagen Beetle democratised mobility, most notably in the US. Going forward, Volkswagen intends to maintain its pioneering role of making efficient and sustainable mobility accessible to everyone. That includes environmental developments such as the fuel-saving BlueMotion Technologies and electro-mobility as well as new mobility concepts. Above all, though, the German company says that the ‘Think Blue’ campaign is primarily about joining up with customers and everyone else interested in a change of mindset towards sustainable mobility.

[Source: Volkswagen]

The new Polo Sedan seems to be a grown-up car for grown-ups. Or at least that’s the message Volkswagen South Africa seems to be promoting the car with. The latest two 30-second TV spots feature thirty-something males who seem to have left their wild days behind them. Voiceovers list their previous ‘incarnations’, exploits and younger selves, while the car gently comes into focus. The whole Polo Sedan launch campaign has used the ‘Ready When You Are.’ tagline, and these two commercials adhere to that marketing strategy perfectly. The Polo Sedan is the latest in a line of fifth-generation Polo models to be launched in South Africa, and costs from R159,900 for the entry-level 84bhp Trendline. The Polo Sedan is also available in Russia and India, where it is sold as the Vento.

The fifth-generation Polo-based Vento saloon has been on sale in India since summer last year, and both it and the Polo are doing great things for Volkswagen in the country. This 60-second TV spot for the car focuses on the emotional attachment the Volkswagen workers have to the car, because of their ‘craftmanship’ that goes into making it. Reminding us of the ‘Full of lovely stuff‘ cake-themed commercial for the Škoda Fabia, this one’s a little less cute, but it gets the message across. Of course, the Vento is no more ‘crafted’ than any other mass-produced car, but the handsome Polo-derived shape and mini-Jetta looks endow it with a certain appeal. The Vento is available with four doors, and in Trendline and Highline guises, powered by Volkswagen’s latest 104bhp 1.6-litre petrol and diesel engines. Prices start at Rs 6,99,00, and a special ‘IPL Edition’ cricket-themed model is also available with an added kit count.

Contrasting with Volkswagen South Africa’s ‘Date Drive’ campaign, Volkswagen Singapore are launching the latest Polo GTI with the help of international beat-boxer Dharni Ng, and just like the South African campaign, the multimedia activities are aimed to get at younger drivers into the performance Polo. The one-minute commercial produced by advertising agency Tribal DDB Singapore – that accompanies an online game – sees noises from the car mixed into Ng’s beat-box soundtrack. The online game meanwhile, tests potential beat-boxer’s skills, with the winner getting the use of a Polo GTI for a weekend (a similar tactic to the South African campaign, where Polo GTIs are delivered when two Twitter users agree to a date) and runs until 8 May. More information on the Singaporean Polo GTI can be found here.

[Source: Adweek.com]

Following a theme Volkswagen UK promoted for advertising the Lupo back in the early 2000s, this 30-second TV commercial for Volkswagen Australia uses the ‘Volkswagen, Condensed’ strapline to push the Polo. With two Aussie guys effortlessly condensing all their chatter about the car into such a small timeframe, it certainly gets the message across. The spot was created by agency DDB Sydney, who also did the ‘Word’ campaign we featured recently. The commercial originally aired for three weeks in November 2010, as a prelude to a focused campaign for the Polo GTI the following month, and is currently being run again and promoted on Volkswagen Australia’s Facebook and YouTube pages. Steve Wakelam and Grant McAloon, Group Creative Heads, DDB Sydney, said: ‘Rather than fighting against what could have been a long, dry list of product features we decided to turn them into our creative ideas and hopefully have a bit of fun along the way. More importantly we managed to get a Chicago song in there, a long term professional goal.’

‘The Volkswagen Polo. Volkswagen, Condensed.’ TV campaign credits
Agency: DDB Sydney
Executive Creative Director: Matt Eastwood
Creative Group Heads: Steve Wakelam and Grant McAloon
Agency Producer: Claire Seffrin
Business Management: Patrice Bougouin
Planning Director: Nick Andrews
Production House: Plaza Films
Director: Paul Middleditch
Producer: Peter Masterton
DOP: Daniel Ardilly
Post House: The Editors
Sound: Nylon Studios
Media Agency: Mediacom

[Source: Campaign Brief]

Last month, Volkswagen Australia launched a cute new 60-second brand TV commercial campaign to ‘celebrate the unique Volkswagen product experience.’ With 30 and 45-second edits to back the full-length ad up, agency DDB Sydney produced the spots, which aim to show the whole range of Volkswagen products available. Only using sounds of everyday life from fictional satisfied VW owners, the commercials are littered with sounds of appreciation, approval and the Volkswagens themselves. And where does the Polo fit in? A yellow example can be seen exiting a corner a second in during the full-length version above…

Volkswagen ‘Word’ TV campaign credits
Agency: DDB Sydney
Executive Creative Director: Dylan Harrison
Creative Directors: Steve Wakelam/Grant McAloon
Art Director and Copywriter: Steve Wakelam
Director: Steve Rogers
DoP: Simon Duggan
Production House: Revolver
Executive Producer: Michael Ritchie
Producer: Pip Smart
Strategic Planner: Nick Andrews
TV Production: Brenden Johnson/Claire Seffrin
Business Director: Patrice Bougouin
Media Agency: Mediacom
Client: Jutta Friese/Nina van der Wees/Loren Elsegood

[Source: Campaign Brief]

News broke of the German-market Polo Style special edition earlier in the week, with the high profile announcement that the advertising campaign would be spearheaded by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Volkswagen released a full set of promotional images – which included a press advertisement – and now the TV commercial has broken cover. The 30-second TV spot portrays Lagerfeld living up to his ‘Kaiser’ image, muttering that the Style range of Volkswagens are all that cool and chic cars from Paris should be. His so-called muse, Baptiste Giabiconi, then tells him that the assembled models are in fact German, to which Lagerfeld acts flustered and denies. We’re not sure it will sell many cars, but it’s in keeping with the sense of fun and tongue-in-cheek spots that usually marks Volkswagen campaigns out from the rest.

[Source: Styleite]

Two world champion Tango dancers, reams of fake tattoos, one Volkswagen Polo and a wire brush. They’re just some of the ingredients of the new Polo TV commercial, currently airing in the UK. The new advert seems to be getting positive responses from user of Facebook, which proves that Volkswagen’s choice of an online social media marketing campaign to promote the commercial could be the right one. Since our first post about the 60-second spot’s debut on 10 November, we’ve learnt that the ad is called ‘Last Tango In Compton’ and was directed by supremo commercial director Jonathan Glazer.

With quite a track record, having made easily recognisable campaigns for Guiness (‘Surfers’), Sony (‘Paint’) and Levi’s (Odyssey), Glazer has actually shot a Polo commercial before, working on 1998′s ‘Protection‘ series of TV spots. Shot in North London, ‘Last Tango in Compton’ features Gasper Godoy and Manuella Rossi dancing a commissioned piece by one of the world’s foremost choreographers with a setup of over 20 different cameras simultaneously following their moves. Volkswagen UK plan to release behind the scenes footage, and above is the first film. Watch through to 03:39 for the commercial itself; more details and photos can be seen on Volkswagen UK’s Polo Facebook campaign page.

Volkswagen Polo ‘Last Tango In Compton’ TV campaign credits
Project Name: Volkswagen Polo
TVC: Last Tango in Compton
Client: Sarah Clayton-Jones, Nigel Brotherton and Rod Mcleod, Volkswagen UK
Creative Agency: DDB UK
Executive Creative Director: Jeremy Craigen
Copywriter: Dave Henderson
Art Director: Richard Denney
Account Planner: Leo Rayman and Tom Lloyd
Production Company: Academy Films
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Director of Photography: Dan Landin
Agency TV Producer: Sarah Browell and Lucinda Ker
Producer: Ben Link
Media Agency: MediaCom
Media Planner: Louise Pastou, Emma Franklin
Account Team: Jonathan Hill, Paul Billingsley, Matt Delahunty and Harriet Bates
Sound Design: Soundtree/Wave
Editor: Paul Watts, The Quarry
VFX Supervision and Post production: One of Us Studios

The drip feed is over. Volkswagen UK has been using Facebook as a platform to drum up interest in its new advertising campaign for the Polo. It’s been releasing tiny details over several days this week, up to the 60-second commercial’s debut on TV last night. Soundtracked to Don’t Stop by Roc C, it shows two world championship tango dancers – Manuela Rossi and Gaspar Godoy – interpreting a brutal if graceful version of the traditional South American dance. Like Volkswagen International’s Fast Lane campaign for the Polo GTI, the social media promotion seems to work well. Is the commercial any good? See it for yourself by clicking on the video above, and find out more about the dancers and also how the ad was created by visiting Volkswagen UK’s ‘Tough. Beautiful. Polo.’ Facebook page.

German car magazine Auto Bild has released a video on its website showing the making of the ‘With All Senses’ Polo TV spot, currently airing in mainland Europe. To our surprise, it was shot in Pinewood Studios just outside London, and features an enormous inflatable ‘Photo Bubble’ in which was the car, the actors, and all the production staff. Made entirely in the artificially-lit temporary studio, the Polo is shown in a simple, clean, and ‘beautiful’ setting, according to Auto Bild. Directed by ‘Mr Sunderland’ from the UK, the 30-second commercial depicts a prospective blindfolded Polo driver identifying the car only through touch. Head over to Auto Bild’s website to watch the behind the scenes clip, while the finished full spot can be viewed below.

[Image: Auto Bild]

Here’s a long-forgotten TV commercial for the then-new facelifted Series 2 Polo. Arriving as the first small car range in the UK to fitted with three-way catalytic converters as standard, this clever 50-second TV spot from 1990 features a pristine white GT Coupé parked on a busy street and getting dirtier and dirtier as the seasons and day-to-day life debris pass it by. Soundtracked by ‘Oh What A Beautiful Morning’ (we don’t know singer; the song was covered by so many artists), we remember seeing the ad on TV at the time. As the car gets covered in more and more soot, grime, and weather and traffic-related dirt, the owner drives it off and the pay-off line is revealed: ‘The new Volkswagen Polo. Cars don’t come any cleaner.’ Understated genius.

[Source: m4ttyf via the Club Polo forum.]

This 53-second is undoubtedly a spoof. We don’t know who’s behind it, but it did make us chuckle. How do we know it not to be real? Some of the fonts used towards the end of the spot aren’t Volkswagen corporate style, and would the company really suggest doing acts usually performed in the boudoir in the new Polo’s interior, however plush it might be? The tale of a nerd who never gets the girl, he seizes his chance and uses his Polo to impress his object of desire. Yes, the subtle humour references are Volkswagen style, but there’s still something about the clip which just isn’t right. And the marketing message? ‘The Polo with sports body work. Impertinently good.’ Thanks to Mark for the link.

The Polo has prided itself on being a byword for quality in the supermini/small car sector. Over the past 35 years it has been critically acknowledged to be the benchmark for its competitors to aim for in terms of build quality and refinement, strengths that were present in the Series 1 model which debuted back in 1975. This latest Volkswagen TV commercial plays on these identifiable Polo traits to good – if slightly unbelievable – effect and also celebrates the car’s European Car of the Year 2010 win.

Here’s the last of the four TV commercials in Volkswagen India’s ‘Made in India’ campaign for the Polo (watch them all on PoloDriverTV). Similarly to the other ads in the series, this 30-second clip uses comic humour to highlight a technical aspect of the car – in this case, the safety features – and to convey the message that the Indian-built Polo is tailor-made for Indian drivers, but has the might of German engineering behind it. The ‘Made in India’ campaign also features a wide range of innovative print, outdoor and digital media. The new Polo costs from RS 4.5 lakh, and will face heated competition from the Maruti Swift, Ford Figo, Honda Jazz, Fiat Punto and Hyundai i20.

Volkswagen Polo ‘Made in India’ TV campaign credits
Creative agency: DDB Mudra
Chief creative officer: Bobby Pawar
National creative director: Rajeev Raja
Copy: Rajeev Raja/Hemant Sharma
Art: Ajmal Mohammad
Planning: Michael Follet
Client servicing: Ashish Marwah, Jay Mehta, Punit Bhatt, Vaibhav Bhargava
Agency film department: Tapan Sharma, Anil Sonawane
Production house: Stink
Director: Christopher Von Reiss
Post-production: Redrum
Media agency: Mediacom

Here’s the third of the four TV commercials in Volkswagen India’s ‘Made in India’ campaign for the Polo (watch them all on PoloDriverTV). Similarly to the first and second ads in the series, this 30-second clip uses comic humour to highlight a technical aspect of the car – in this case, the handling – and to convey the message that the Indian-built Polo is tailor-made for Indian drivers, but has the might of German engineering behind it. The ‘Made in India’ campaign also features a wide range of innovative print, outdoor and digital media. The new Polo costs from RS 4.5 lakh, and will face heated competition from the Maruti Swift, Ford Figo, Honda Jazz, Fiat Punto and Hyundai i20.

Volkswagen Polo ‘Made in India’ TV campaign credits
Creative agency: DDB Mudra
Chief creative officer: Bobby Pawar
National creative director: Rajeev Raja
Copy: Rajeev Raja/Hemant Sharma
Art: Ajmal Mohammad
Planning: Michael Follet
Client servicing: Ashish Marwah, Jay Mehta, Punit Bhatt, Vaibhav Bhargava
Agency film department: Tapan Sharma, Anil Sonawane
Production house: Stink
Director: Christopher Von Reiss
Post-production: Redrum
Media agency: Mediacom

Here’s the second of the four TV commercials in Volkswagen India’s ‘Made in India’ campaign for the Polo (watch them all on PoloDriverTV). Similarly to the first ad in the series, this 30-second clip uses comic humour to highlight a technical aspect of the car – in this case, the fuel efficiency – and to convey the message that the Indian-built Polo is tailor-made for Indian drivers, but has the might of German engineering behind it. The ‘Made in India’ campaign also features a wide range of innovative print, outdoor and digital media. The new Polo costs from RS 4.5 lakh, and will face heated competition from the Maruti Swift, Ford Figo, Honda Jazz, Fiat Punto and Hyundai i20.

Volkswagen Polo ‘Made in India’ TV campaign credits
Creative agency: DDB Mudra
Chief creative officer: Bobby Pawar
National creative director: Rajeev Raja
Copy: Rajeev Raja/Hemant Sharma
Art: Ajmal Mohammad
Planning: Michael Follet
Client servicing: Ashish Marwah, Jay Mehta, Punit Bhatt, Vaibhav Bhargava
Agency film department: Tapan Sharma, Anil Sonawane
Production house: Stink
Director: Christopher Von Reiss
Post-production: Redrum
Media agency: Mediacom