VW Ads
think small
Part 1
Collecting famous and vintage VW Ads can be an enjoyable pastime. You'll find decades worth of these treasures in old magazines and newspapers. And like many Volkswagen hobbies, this adventure can take you around the world in many languages. Did you know, the universal language of vintage VW Ads was humour? Campaigns that poked fun at their own products endured them to the hearts of many readers. Some promotions were pure genius.
While every other car company was bragging, “Our cars are bigger, shinier and better than the competition,” Volkswagen took a humbler approach. Their message suggested simplicity and practicality. They positioned themselves as the sensible choice. Sensible people noticed. To Volkswagen, improving the quality each year seemed to be the only goal.
To that end, their advertisements all stressed the “same on the outside” and “better on the inside”. You just had to look at their rising sales to see that they got their point across. The unique Volkswagen niche provided many years of little to no competition. Certainly in North America, Volkswagen didn’t seemed to be in direct competition with any of the major brands. Volkswagen wasn't prepared to change their whole production and design foundations in order to become just like everyone else. Why beg for a small slice of the global auto pie, when you could simply bake a new flavor of your own?
So while most of the world was buying bigger, VW chose the slogan, “Think small".
Ironically, this “we don't need such a big piece” (we're small) position got them a hearty piece of market pie.
Just like Starbucks created a market for a $4.00 cup of gourmet coffee, Volkswagen gave birth to a market for the sub-compact. Back in the late 50's early 60's car companies like Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Hyundai and Mazda could dream of market share.
It was the now classic Volkwagen Beetle that made humble dreams come true. Coming Soon! Click here for Part 2 of Vintage VW Ads featuring the lovable Punch Buggie Part 3 The Award winning Mad Men of Volkswagen Part 4 The Funbugz and Friends Volkswagen Ad Gallery Dig into the vintage ads and post yours! |
