EOC: Week 1 VW Lemon

After reading about the Infamous “VW Lemon Ad,” I learned that it was a staple for the advertising world.  The idea on how to produce and sell a product was presented in such a way that was remembered for the past fifty plus years.  “Beetle ads, though, connected with consumers on an emotional level, while conveying a product benefit in a way consumers could relate to. Plus, the ads were breathtakingly simple.  Two famous print ads illustrate this. One featured a small picture of the car with the headline "Think small." Text highlighted the advantages of driving the small Beetle vs. a big car.  The other presented just the car with "Lemon" in bold type. Ad copy explained that the chrome strip on the glove compartment was blemished and had to be replaced. The take-away was obvious. If this was Volkswagen's idea of a lemon, the Beetle must be a well-built car.  The Beetle ad campaign also stands out for its use of television, which was in 90 percent of homes by the mid-1960s. It may have been grainy black-and-white, but the emotional connection between car and consumer was picture perfect in Beetle commercials like "Funeral." (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/1999/11/22/smallb7.html?page=all)
Hiring a “Jewish Company” placed inside of a playboy magazine, which was very influential for the era.  Using creative “Advertising” caused the public to catch their eye.  The Advertising company would take the leap in regards to agreeing with the following statement: “It was shocking, to say the least, for an auto brand to call their car a lemon. What made the ad even more appealing than the shock value, was that the Bug was in fact (and still is) shaped like a lemon. To say “Think small” with regard to autos in 1960 was revolutionary. Most American car ads from the era looked exactly like this. “Bigger was better, the bigger the better.”  (http://www.buzzfeed.com/copyranter/all-the-great-1960s-volkswagen-ads) 

Back to the “funeral” statement, Funerals are thought to bring an emotional connection, and with the black and white grainy grim look it portrays the imperfect car being sent to its death.  VW and DDB wanted the BEETLE to be the peoples car and that nothing less then perfection is what they wanted for their consumers. “This preoccupation with detail means the VW lasts longer and requires less maintenance, by and large, than other cars.” Concluding with a memorable tag line “We pluck the lemons; you get the plums,” it gives the reader a first impression that Volkswagen is calling their own car a lemon, while intriguing them to read further to see that it is really about the rigorous inspection process that Volkswagens go through.”  http://www.writingfordesigners.com/?p=1731