From The New York Times:
Volkswagen may have retired its unwieldy “Fahrvergnügen” slogan, but a quirky new ad campaign for the struggling carmaker is once again invoking its German heritage.
Along with faux-German catch phrases (“Straight outta da Autobahn” and “Fast as schnell”), the campaign introduces Helga, a blonde in white go-go boots who demonstrates the features of the redesigned Volkswagen GTI Mk V hatchback.
“We’re going to celebrate our Germanness,” said Kerri Martin, the director of brand innovation for Volkswagen of America in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Revisiting the national origin of a brand is a technique other car companies have used with significant success. Last year, Mitsubishi Motors played up Japanese pop culture in a campaign for its redesigned Eclipse sport coupe.
The target audience for the GTI is undeniably male: Volkswagen chose to unveil the new campaign on Thursday by holding a news conference at the office of Playboy magazine in New York. Print ads for the GTI are scheduled to run in magazines like Maxim, Spin, ESPN, Wired and Autoweek.
