IT WORKS FOR ME!

Oops – I was having too much fun with the Return button. Allow me to expound. I don’t know whether it’s ‘perfect’ or not as a brand campaign, but it does work for me.

I thikn that VW is trying to link to something bigger than stair-sized piano keys here Even though it’s called ‘the fun theory’, the campaign seems to be more about health/green, which is a nice connection to the way they’re positioning their turbo diesels. If they can make people take stairs/recycle/etc, just think how well they can make their cars behave! And their Jetta seems to deliver on that.

I think the campaign also tries and kind of succeeds at making VW seem like a thinking, fun-loving, youthful brand.

So in my opinion, it’s a brand-focused campaign because it’s all about positioning VW a certain way in the minds of viewers, rather than focusing on specific products. I completely agree with you that whether it’s a good campaign or not will depend on how well it changes opinions about VW among viewers.

What Paul (Burke) said. Eloquently.

Owning and/or renewing a brand position in the minds of consumers still has (longer term) marketing merit and value, which clearly supports sales — perhaps more so in an age of endless mindless distraction.

i\’m gonna quote Henry Jenkins here: \”the key is to produce something that both brings people together and give them something to do.\” Faris Yakob talks about this idea as well. How can we create more brand experiences and interactions w/people vs just getting shouty w/them. I love this fun theory project. it\’s getting people to engage in a fun way, and it\’s obviously changing/affecting a behavior that wasn\’t there before. now isn\’t that what we\’re trying to do? in the end, i\’d like to think that people will think differently about VW. i\’m sure there\’s some type of testing we can do. instead, why not just do more of this kind of stuff and over time, people will have a positive feeling towards the brand.

also check out Leon Phang\’s post over here on the Fun Theory and the possible inspiration for it http://theplanninglab.typepad.com/theplanninglab/2009/11/is-it-ok-to-steal-ideas.html

Rob, you have a cool mom for spotting this out.

Huh…I guess I’m the only one that doesn’t have an overwhelmingly positive opinion of this approach.

Thanks Paul (Burke) for trying to shed some light on how this idea might connect to VW (I didn’t know anything about the diesel Jetta). Otherwise it’s just “this is cool, and VW is behind it, and therefore VW is a little bit cooler.” Obviously there’s at least some small benefit in that, but is it enough to justify this execution? Is there no risk that potential customers will roll their eyes and ask “What the hell does this have to do with VW?”?

I’m willing to admit that the reward outweighs that risk, but it still feels a little bit like someone at an agency had a cool idea and just bolted it on to whatever client they had at the moment. (Nguyen’s comment lends a little support to this theory.) Beyond the question of whether it’s acceptable to steal ideas (see the link in Nguyen’s comment), I wonder how acceptable it is to have a “cool idea” like this and back into (i.e., post-rationalize) why it makes sense for a client. No problems there?

Hi Rob, I’m Claudia.

I’m new to your site (nguyen duong actually shared the link).

For me, this just increases the cool factor for VW. I mean, I got a warm tummy sensation after seeing the video and the first thing I thought was, “this is brilliant subtle branding that makes me respect and trust VW even more.” These days most people expects a whole lot more from brands then they did a few years ago, at least I do. VW is sending a message that they care about the environment (See the trash Fun Theory one) and people’s well-being. Also big brands that do social media-driven campaigns especially during this social media frenzy are more likely to get press coverage for the campaign. So, total win-win. BTW, I drive a VW and love my car.

Rob – VW’s clean/green campaign is actually pretty widespread – not just about the Jetta. Check it out here.

I don’t find it as much of a stretch to link the two campaigns, and I bet they were conceived with that link in mind. But even if they weren’t, I think there’s nothing wrong with having a bit of fun these days (especially when fun is a pretty small leap from the previous fahrvergnügen effort) , especially as cheap as it is to produce and distribute content these days.

Thanks all for the input. Like I said originally, it’s a cool idea. I just can’t shake the feeling that the VW brand suffers from a little bit of cloudiness, or maybe even self-contradiction, and I don’t think this campaign helps. I’m left thinking maybe VW is a little more fun than I thought, but still lacking a clear, coherent grasp on “who” VW is.

In general, I am a fan of brands doing things like this. I’d just like to see a more concerted effort to make it consistent with other communications or link it to existing attributes of the identity.

Think there’d be any value in trying to get people (especially non-ad people) to respond to a survey that asks whether they “get” the connection between this concept and VW, and how it impacts their impressions of VW? I’d be curious…

It’s really about educating those who still think diesels are the old black smoking, clanking engines of lore. I mean the new clean diesel tech engines are awesome. Tons of torque and get better MPG than most any hybrid.

A little follow-up to this old post…and finally a link between ‘fun’ and driving! http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-brilliant-marketing-moves-of-2010-2011-1#volkswagen-12