Volkswagen Advertising Strategy: Print, TV, and Digital Ads

Introduction: VW's Advertising Legacy

Volkswagen has long been known for its print and television advertising. The company was voted by several advertising professional organizations as having the "Top Ad Campaign of the 20th Century." In the mid-1960s, when TV commercials were just coming into their own, VW's "Funeral" ad was a little fuzzy in black and white, but it said it all: the only person to inherit the deceased's fortune was nephew Harold, who had saved money by driving a VW.

Humor — through double entendres, puns, visual jokes, and more — has always been a Volkswagen hallmark. It was on full display in that early commercial and has remained central to the brand's creative identity ever since.

Classic Print Campaigns and the Minimalist Approach

One of VW's earliest and most celebrated print ads was "Think Small," which featured the Beetle alone in the background against a full white page — nothing more. Another ad displayed the car alongside the single word "Lemon" in bold type. The copy explained that the chrome strip on the glove compartment had needed to be replaced because it was blemished. The implication was clear: if this was Volkswagen's idea of a lemon, the Beetle had to be a remarkably well-built car.

These iconic minimalist campaigns set the tone for decades of VW advertising — simple, clear, and direct, with the headline and slogan serving as the most important takeaway.

The 'Dare to Be Happy' Campaign and Kelly Award Success

Volkswagen has continued to use this simple, clear, and straightforward approach in its advertisements many decades later. The VW "New Beetle Convertible" pill advertisement was one of the winners of the 2007 26th Annual Kelly Awards for print advertising. Once again, it was primarily visual, with just a headline reading: "Proven Against Negativity. For symptoms including angst, bitterness and incessant brooding."

The target median age for this advertisement was 50, with a median household income of $74,727. The audience breakdown was 28% male and 72% female, 63% married, and 51% college graduates. Kelly Award judges offered comments including: "Effortlessly bold," "Standing for optimism and happiness," "Happy pill, clean and says a lot," "Innovation, experimentation for the format," and "Very involved, dealing with features so you are a part of the product." The print ad ran in women's interest magazines targeted to nurses and teachers to reach the female audience. Sales increased in each month the campaign ran versus forecast: 19% in August, 52% in September, and 311% in October.

This advertisement was part of the broader "Dare to Be Happy" campaign, which also appeared on billboards. Other executions carried slogans such as "Misery has enough company" and "Jaded is overrated." The campaign took a distinctly minimalist approach. Notably, several members of the clergy quoted the advertisements online — drawn to the overall message, rather than the car itself.

Online Advertising and Interactive Digital Formats

The strategy for Volkswagen's online advertising is very different from its print work. In 2005, VW's agency DDB launched the GTI "Dynamic Drive" online campaign, using rich interactive formats to engage audiences with the GTI's performance character. The campaign employed large-scale formats showcasing 3D animation of the new GTI and ran across platforms including MSN, Gentleman's Quarterly, Sky Sports, the Guardian, Channel 4, and Yahoo. These formats were necessary to attract the internet-savvy target audience in their twenties and thirties, who expected more than standard ad formats.

The campaign used the online experience to showcase the Golf GTI's dynamic drive in memorable ways. In one animation, when users rolled over a GTI in a tunnel, the car drove out of the page toward them. In another, users could interact with the ad by switching the color of the GTI. The creative director at DDB explained that the 3D animation was used to bring the car alive in a way that "simply cannot be achieved using standard advertising formats."

Volkswagen's digital advertising strategy emphasizes interactivity and is genuinely geared to those who are not only accustomed to a rich format, but who expect it. On the VW website, users see the car driving along a road with an animated changing background. Beyond reading standard specifications, users can actually "build" a car — seeing what their new Beetle will look like in different colors, with different transmissions and interiors. They can also calculate the price based on specific options, and then sign up for a test drive at a nearby dealer.