EOC Week 1 VW Lemon

The VW "Lemon" ad stirred up the advertising world so much in the 60's.The driving force behind the Volkswagen campaign was William Bernbach of DDB. which was a a Jewish firm. that was one of the biggest controversies behind the entire campaign While the Detroit Auto market was designing very large cars with many options and accessories, the Volkswagen Beetle promoted itself as more familiar in its simplicity. You can see this clearly mirrored in the campaign for the car, DDB utilized a minimalist approach to selling that related to the reader on a personal level. (like apple) "Inspector Kurt Kroner is looking out for you, the car buyer, not a faceless corporation trying to get you to spend more, but a company that has people rejecting cars for something as minor as a hair line scratch in the windshield." This ad relates to the consumer. Volkswagen is held to a higher standard than other automobile producers, or so they would have you believe in order to successfully sell the Beetle.

"How could Volkswagen sell Hitler’s favorite car to the American people only a decade and a half after World War II? This was the question asked of the advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach in 1960. In order for them to solve this problem, they would have to find a new way to advertise their products. The now revered “Lemon” ad for the Beetle was their answer to this considerable task, which would revolutionize the advertising industry. DDB introduced the Beetle with this dynamic ad that seemed effortless, yet possessed a revolutionary approach to marketing. It connected with consumers, successfully integrating European small design into a culture with a big lifestyle. This ad, along with others from the campaign, was the first to represent a perfect balance of image, copy and simplicity, setting a benchmark that has inspired advertisers to do better ever since." Rebecca Coleman.