Week 1 EOC: VW Lemon Ad

“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” (http://www.writingfordesigners.com/?p=1731).  The Volkswagen “Lemon” advertisement follows the success of the “Think Small” style of advertisement during 1949. The ad showcases a black and white photo of the ever so popular Volkswagen Beetle with the word “Lemon” in bold letters under the car. Even though the word lemon is seen as a negative word in the English language Volkswagen decided to play into the weakness of their car compared to their other quality cars that are more expensive than the beetle. We use the word lemon to describe a sour taste in our mouths after making a distasteful decision. Even though this car was substandard Volkswagen gained a large amount of popularity and became the topic of a lot of conversations. “The Beetle ad campaign also stands out for its use of television, which was in 90 percent of homes by the mid-1960s. It may have been grainy black-and-white, but the emotional connection between car and consumer was picture perfect in Beetle commercials like "Funeral"”. (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/1999/11/22/smallb7.html). With this new wave of advertising going on it forced other companies to analyze their tactics and redesign their methods to connect with current and potential customers. In ad after ad, year after year, the Volkswagen Beetle ad campaign conveyed its message of frugality and sensibility with a clarity and emotion the ad world had never seen before. (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/1999/11/22/smallb7.html).