From a branding perspective, it will be interesting to see how Volkswagen begins the process of rebuilding their reputation in the wake of the recent emissions scandal.
“The problem,” wrote a journalist in a recent (link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34328689 text: BBC News article), “is that even if something like winning the World Cup can boost the reputation of all kinds of German brands internationally, then lying about a car’s environmental credentials could well have the opposite effect.”*
But has the VW badge been tarnished forever? It seems unlikely – even as the governments of more countries open investigations into the car manufacturer. The world’s largest automotive company will ultimately come out of this fine.
The most persuasive argument to support this belief is that the Volkswagen brand is a mighty one.
The thing is, they’ve had some of the advertising world’s greatest minds on their side for more than half a century. The first of whom was, of course, Bill Bernbach.
Bernbach’s strategy was to avoid the overblown aspirational urgings of contemporary American car advertising and to simply present an honest view of the product. Just look at ‘It’s ugly, but it gets you there.’
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/01-VW.jpg alt: VW – “Its Ugly”)
DDB’s classic ‘Lemon’ and ‘Think small’ ads for Volkswagen are among the reasons why a great number of creatives are in advertising in the first place. A whole episode of the first season of Mad Men was based around the appearance of ‘Lemon’ and Don Draper’s reaction to it. These ads have entered the vernacular, familiar even among people outside of the industry, beyond the hallowed halls of awards archives. In the same way that even the least culturally minded of your friends can recognise Warhol’s soup cans, they’ll know ‘Lemon’. And that’s because Bernbach’s groundbreaking on-the-side-of-the-consumer approach to advertising was successful.
Bernbach’s innovation was so powerful that the brand still carries its residual glow today, and it may yet get the brand through their current crisis.
Of course, that friendly, trusted glow has been maintained by great ad men and women ever since. Everyone has their favourite. The ‘Small but tough’ Polo campaign. The ‘Emergency brake’ campaign by Adam & Eve DDB a few years ago. A personal favourite is DDB Mexico City’s ‘Emoticon’.
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/16-vw-683×1024.jpg alt: VW ad )
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/image8462-807×1024.jpg alt: VW ad)
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/VW-Emergency-Brake-Posters-3-1024×729-1024×729.jpg alt: VW ad)
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/VWPoloSmallButTough-1024×667.jpg alt: VWPoloSmallButTough)
The tone of Volkswagen ads is always confident, witty and assuring. The layouts are spare and unfussy. That lovely clean sweep of white at the bottom, populated by just the logo and little or no copy.
The thing is, advertising works. And these elegant, often inspired pieces of work mean that Volkswagen is still a brand I like, even admire. How can it be that there can exist a separation between an organisation and its identity?
Take from this what you will. To some degree, it reinforces the notion that advertising is evil, cynical and the business of pulling the wool over people’s eyes. But advertisers can only work with what they are given. At the time, Bernbach was telling the truth about an ‘honest car’ – the ugly but reliable Beetle. Volkswagen’s status as a trusted brand has dipped, according to surveys conducted since the scandal. But the manufacturer has, stacked on its back seat, an archive of previous work that will sustain it on the journey over the difficult road ahead.
We cannot underestimate the power of advertising. Yes, it’s probably a sad indictment of the troubling times in which we live… but there it is.