#02 - Volkswagen / Snow Plow

Brand: Volkswagen

Agency: DDB NY

Year: 1964

For all those that praise storytelling like it’s the new thing in advertising, here’s the one that started it all (or one of them, created by the legend that was William ´Bill´ Bernbach). This is storytelling raised to the highest degree. In the words of  the great John Hegarty “That’s a print ad, not a Tv commercial”.

AD BREAKDOWN

What make this ad great right from the start is its premisse “How does the guy operating the snow plow gets to the snow plow in the first place?”. Starting your ad with a question is always a great idea. It seems really simple, you just pose a problem and then try to give it a good answer. Plus, sometimes the question is right there on the brief so why not use it as a starting point? Well the problem with this strategy is twofold and that’s why it isn’t as simple as it seems. First you don’t need just any question, you need THE question. You need something that is common enough to be relatable but not so common as to be banal. Then you need to nail the execution of the answer.

This is a brilliant ad because it poses an interesting question and the path it takes to  give you the answer is brilliantly executed.

By taking its time it forces the viewer to take notice on what’s on-screen. Ok it’s a car. Oh it’s a Volkswagen Beetle. But what’s it doing on the snow? Then the question is asked and you get it immediately. You know where this is going but truth be told, you don’t really care that you’re seeing an ad. You were guided from point A to point B, from beginning to end. And you got the answers you needed. Just in a very clever and interesting way.

There’s a certain beauty about the way this ad is filmed, revealing bits and pieces and taking its time to reveal its big secret. Oh, and one more thing. The way the line “This one drives a Volkswagen” is delivered. Damn that’s smooth. And it is left implied all the characteristics that make the Volkswagen so powerful without having to spell them out to you. This is an ad that guides the viewer without dumbing the viewer down. It doesn’t need to and it knows it.

If this ad was done today how would it look? Probably it would not have the breathing room it has. Probably it would start with the question and then we’d cut to multiple beauty shots of the car, followed by a list of its traits and specs (horsepower, etc.) and then it would probably end with the price “Starting from xxx amount”.

What we can learn from this ad is that when you have peoples attention you don’t need to flood them with information. When you think people are dumb and you dumb down your work you’ll make ads for no one (probably just for the client and in my experience probably not for very long). “Snow Plow” is the exact opposite. It’s a very clever ad made for everyone. It grabs your attention, it poses an interesting question and it delivers a stunning execution.  

TAKEAWAY

CLEVER PREMISSE (INTERESTING QUESTION) + INTERESTING ANSWER

=

BRILLIANT AD