VW’s Ads Aim to Draw Beetle Buyers Without Bugging Them

Volkswagen unveiled ads for its Beetle on Thursday that bring a ‘90s attitude to classic campaigns from the 1960s in order to draw a wide range of drivers to the much anticipated, remodeled car.

The new ads rely on witty remarks to evoke baby boomers’ memories of the beloved little flivver while playing to the Gen-X crowd with sassy quips about its funky colors, such as lime and bright blue. “If you sold your soul in the ‘80s, here’s your chance to buy it back,” one ad says. “Comes with wonderful new features. Like heat,” says another.

The ads, created by Arnold Communications of Boston, coincide with this month’s U.S. launch of the redesigned Beetle, last sold in this country about 20 years ago. VW dealers across the United States have waiting lists for the modernized version of the car that retained a cult-like following even after it was taken off the market.

This time, VW doesn’t want the Beetle to become its signature car, as it had been in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

“From a marketing standpoint, we see the new Beetle as simply a magnet for the brand,” Liz Vanzura, marketing director for Volkswagen of America, said at a news conference in New York. “This was never meant to be a high-volume car.”

The German car maker promises to roll out 50,000 “Bugs” this year and 120,000 in 1999.

The Beetle brings a new spirit to VW, said David Hillburn, an executive vice president of the ad agency Young & Rubicam in Detroit. But he believes that with a base price of $15,000, it may be too costly for younger drivers.

The new Beetle ads, debuting in April magazines and on television March 23, are noteworthy in that they show only the car, treating it as an icon that requires no hype or explanation.

The print ads show discreet images of the Bug with minimal copy against an all-white background, lacking the celebrities, dogs and winding roads of other car ads.

“We think this will allow people to come to this car on their own personal terms,” Vanzura said. “We don’t want to define this car too narrowly because we saw from our research that the broad appeal of this car crosses all demographic boundaries. So most of all, we want to keep it very simple.”

Volkswagen said it is spending a third of its ad budget to pitch the Beetle. VW last year spent $106 million on advertising, according to Competitive Media Reporting.

Ron Lawner, Arnold Communications chief creative officer, said the previous ad campaign is one of the best ever done. But he didn’t try to mimic it. “We’d be crazy to walk away completely from that idea, but the new campaign had to be also firmly planted in the future,” he said.