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Volkswagen takes the Beetle to the skies on Christmas Eve
The auto manufacturer has been able to create a huge buzz with its innovative outdoor campaign executions
On Christmas Eve, Volkswagen Group Sales India launched a trailblazer in Mumbai. This comes close on the heels of its recent multi-media launch campaign in India. A first for any automobile manufacturer, Volkswagen unraveled an innovative trick, by deploying a helicopter to unfurl a 10,000 sq ft banner, which displayed the New Beetle and the manufacturer's logo.
The banner had a picture of the New Volkswagen Beetle in shiny red colour and the copy said, 'The New Beetle from Volkswagen'. It was carried by the campaign helicopter, which took off from the Juhu Aerodrome, flying over Vile Parle, Bandra Kurla Complex, Worli Sea Link, Worli Sea Face, Warden Road, Marine Drive and Nariman Point, before returning to the Juhu Aerodrome. This heli-campaign was deployed between 4:15 pm and 5:15 pm in the city.
Volkswagen recently launched the legendary New Beetle in India and has been offering its premium cars, the Jetta and Passat, to Indian customers. This campaign will bolster the company's intent to roll out its mass offering, the Polo (hatchback), in 2010.
Commenting on this initiative, Lutz Kothe, chief general manager, marketing and PR, Volkswagen Group Sales India, says, "Our aim has always been to break away from the clutter by being innovative in the way we communicate our brand and products in the market. This is yet another innovation from us to promote our recently launched iconic product, the New Beetle, as well as Brand Volkswagen."
As part of the launch campaign, Volkswagen also recently took over an entire OOH space at the prominent SV Road-Linking Road junction in Bandra, Mumbai, which sees tremendous traffic throughout the day. The campaign read "It's official. Curves are back." The six-part Beetle outdoor came together part-by-part in the first week of December, heightening people's anticipation and excitement about the imminent launch.
The brand's creative agency, DDB Mudra worked on this campaign. Rajeev Raja, NCD, DDB Mudra Group says, "The inspiration for this innovative outdoor idea came from the phrase, 'The sum of the parts is sometimes greater than the whole'. Thus, the attempt was to accentuate the unique iconic shape of the Beetle, which is known and loved the world over. And what better way to do that than to show 'a curve in every inch'? Choosing such a prominent location only added to the tremendous impact of the idea."
The company also launched an innovative mechanical billboard with just the manufacturer's logo on it and a small model car of the Beetle moving across the length and breadth of the 'VW' sign.
When contacted, Volkswagen chose not to disclose the ad spends on these campaigns. But the company, which is the largest carmaker in Europe, is definitely taking the 'highway' to success by launching clutter-breaking, innovative campaigns.