As classic car enthusiasts, we may not be too interested in the numerous car advertisements that appear in the newspapers, magazines or on the television.
For me, it’s not just the fact that they are advertising a modern car for sale that makes me look elsewhere, but that the ads have become clone copies of each other in the same way that the cars themselves have. I am almost guaranteed to turn the page in a hurry.
There is even a print ad that claims that ‘sometimes even a headline isn’t needed’ – the fact that the sentence IS therefore acting as a headline just makes me mad in an irrational art bloke type of way.
However, just imagine what it was like to witness a bit of an advertising revolution.
Okay, some of you can well remember and don't have to imagine, but I was born in the age of Spangles, Chopper bikes and polyester clothing.
In 1959, Volkswagen commissioned New York advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach to come up with a campaign to promote the Beetle.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Beetle was seen as a bit of an upstart in the US marketplace dominated by large sedans and station wagons, and so the agency came up with something suitable.
Their often tongue-in-cheek ads were honest, simple and quirky but seemed to work. Such gems as “You’re missing a lot when you own a Volkswagen” accompanied a picture of a pile of parts next to a Beetle: radiator and propshaft boasting the rear-engined, air-cooled aspect.
The air-cooled ‘novelty’ was also hammered home with the one-liner: “The only water a Volkswagen needs is the water you wash it with”.
My personal favourite, however, has to be the ever-so-sexist: “Sooner or later, your wife will drive home one of the best reasons for owning a Volkswagen”. Accompanied by a picture of a dented Beetle, the campaign advertised the fact that it took just 10 bolts to undo a front wing and cost just $24.95. “She can jab the hood. Graze the door. Or bump off the bumper. It may make you furious, but it won’t make you poor.”
So there you are – feel free to have a raging row with the missus, but take heart in the fact that your wallet won’t be battered as well.
