PoloDriver

Following preview microsites and information requests from potential buyers, Volkswagen Australia has finally launched the new Polo. The major product push for the Australian arm of the German giant this year, the new advertising campaign focuses on a ‘Followers of no one’ message – the thinking is that the car appeals to individualists – and VW has built a superbly interactive microsite to ensure that message gets into all those non-conformist’s heads. There are directly (fuel economy, performance, style options) and not so directly-related (innovative designers, unusual professions) photos and videos, all of which are accessed by a cleverly rendered Polo which can be ‘driven’ across the screen.

Buyers can even watch the TV spot which accompanies the campaign, by ‘driving’ to that particular on-screen parking space. As off-beat and strange as its parent microsite, the 45-second commercial features four friends driving to a bar, although all isn’t as it first appears. Mutating faces and clothes allied to outer space-type phaser noises give a clue the chaps’ origins. Confirmation from silver shoes pointing to alien descent comes at the end of the spot. Whether it works or not, the ‘For dedicated followers of no one’ commercial is certainly one of the most unusual and creative we’ve seen for the fifth-generation model. The Australian Polo range starts at $19,990 for the five-speed manual Trendline.

‘For dedicated followers of no one’ TV campaign credits
Agency: DDB Sydney
National ECD: Matt Eastwood
Creative Director: Mark Harricks
Creative Team: Paul Sharp & Mike Burdick
Business Management: Scott Thomson & Patrice Bougouin
Strategy: Nick Andrews
Director: Gary Freedman
Photography: Andreas Smetana
Production House: Revolver Film
Media Agency: Mediacom