Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2006 13:46:05 -0800
Reply-To: Anthony Egeln <regnsuzanne@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Anthony Egeln <regnsuzanne@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: New VW Commercials
In-Reply-To: <2c84d3640603080914m7cd3676fx8cd22bde0aba78f5@mail.gmail.com>
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I wouldn't over-think this one. Since the dawn of time young men have enjoyed going fast....whether it be on a horse or a high performance jet aircraft. As far as speeding goes, if you act irresponsibly behind the wheel, you go to jail. That doesn't preclude driving fast for fun on secluded country, mountain or desert roads.
From someone well past fast but still able to remember........
Anthony
'89 Syncro GL (Hidalgo)
Donald Baxter <onanov@GMAIL.COM> wrote: I think the "fast" commercials are problematic and tend to make me
eliminate VW from my choices of potential new vehicles. I think they
portray women as foolish and subhuman, i think they encourage an
irresponsible use of vehicles on public thoroughfares. As someone who
spends about 12 times as much time on the back of a bicycle or on
foot, I get to witness a lot of this encouraged behaviour from
vehicles as it is. Who needs more testosterone-laden driving
practices encouraged by media culture?
Here's an excerpt from a Slate article about these ads (and i think
they're more than a "tiny" bit offensive):
As for this spot, it's funny, only a tiny bit offensive, and totally
appropriate to the product at hand. The GTI is�as Volkswagen eagerly
noted on the phone with me�a "hot hatch" and a "pocket rocket." It's
the kind of car that appeals to hyper-aggressive young knuckleheads.
And so the other three spots in the campaign center on 1) speeding, 2)
reckless driving in inclement weather, and 3) more female-hating. ("My
Fast makes it hard to have a relationship," says the demon voice in
this last spot, after a guy exiles his girlfriend from his GTI because
he'd "rather not carry the extra weight.") This strategy makes perfect
sense when a car's main selling point is horsepower-per-dollar.
But there's a problem. According to Kurt Schneider, GM of creative
content for Volkswagen, these ads are also meant to "reinvigorate the
emotion behind the whole VW brand" and act as a "halo" for a revamped
marketing effort. The hot-hatch GTI is now considered nothing less
than "the soul of Volkswagen."
Which would be great if VW's customer base were comprised entirely of
Sigma Chi brothers. But what happens when it comes time to market the
Jetta (to sensible grown-ups of both sexes) or the Passat wagon (to
families)?
----end of excerpt-----
I think these ads mark the beginning of the end of VW being a standout
in advertising and mark the beginning of VW advertising their product
more like Budweiser advertises beer.
DB
On 3/7/06, Doug F wrote:
> Anybody check out the new VW GTI commercials?
>
> Un pimp your ride....hilarious!
>
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Donald Baxter
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www.onanov.com
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Why is academia so cut-throat? Because the stakes are so low.
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