Volkswagen And DDB Sydney Call On Aussie Ute Lovers To Uncover Real Power
Volkswagen and DDB Sydney have created a Mad Max style prototype, breaking all boundaries in traditional ute advertising.
The Amarok V6 is the most powerful ute in its class and the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles team tasked DDB Sydney to create a campaign that brought the ‘fun’ back into driving a 4×4 ute and at the same time challenge some flawed perceptions around the Volkswagen Amarok.
The resulting campaign saw the creation of a powerful, off road performance vehicle, the ‘Korama’, that looked like it belonged in the Dakar Rally, but actually hid a full production Amarok V6 model underneath.
Marketing manager Ralph Beckmann said following the success of the ‘Naked Ute’, the campaign DDB Sydney created for Volkswagen earlier in 2016, they briefed the agency to continue to disrupt the ute category and get rid of Amarok’s old image for good.
“We couldn’t be happier with the campaign, it has everything we wanted – a great demonstration of power, real Australians enjoying the Amarok and a big surprise at the end,” Beckmann said.
DDB Sydney chief creative officer Ben Welsh said it was one of the most ambitious projects he’d ever worked on.
“It took trust and collaboration to turn a great idea into an amazing experience. And it all started when our client came back from a test drive with their hearts still pounding,” Welsh said.
The campaign was created in partnership with Will O’Rourke/The Glue Society – the team who also worked on ‘The Naked Ute’. The first step was to design and build the Korama, without compromising on the performance of the vehicle. Initial sketches were created by the designer behind the Mad Max vehicles in ‘Fury Road’, a model was made and then it was straight into construction.
Four motoring enthusiasts who fancied that they knew a bit about power were recruited to give the manufacturer feedback before the truth was revealed.
The Campaign kicked off with a launch film laying out the story through social channels, supported by some digital work, outdoor and print. TVCs will follow in the second phase of the campaign, which will be rolled out in early 2017.
The campaign has recently commenced via Facebook and Youtube.
Credits | |
Client – Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles | |
Marketing Manager | Ralph Beckmann |
Product Marketing Manager | Nick Reid |
Retail and Digital Communications Manager | Nathan Johnson |
Agency – DDB Sydney | |
Chief Creative Officer | Ben Welsh |
Creative Partner | Vincent Osmond |
Creative Partner | Jade Manning |
Senior Art Director | Ronojoy Ghosh |
Senior Art Director | Richard Apps |
Senior Writer | Jeff Galbraith |
Senior Writer | Richard Taylor |
Creative Technology Director | Shaun O’Connor |
Managing Partner | Amanda Wheeler |
Business Director | Astrid Noble |
Business Manager | Madeleine King |
Chief Strategy Officer | Fran Clayton |
Head of Integrated Content | Sevda Cemo |
Social Content Producer | Isabella Harris |
Social Content Editor | Fraser Kelton |
Senior Print Producer | John Wood |
Social Comms Manager | Salil Kumar |
Social Content Manager | Lachlan Stewart |
Head of Technology | Sean Gardner |
Digital Producers | Dan Mulligan, Will Kerr |
Production Company – Will O’Rourke | |
Car Design and Project Directors | Jonathan Kneebone, Luke Nuto |
Managing Director/EP | Michael Ritchie |
EP/Head of Projects | Josh Mullens |
Producer | Ian Iveson |
Post Producer | Jasmin Helliar |
Production Designer | Enzo Iacono |
DOP | Peter Eastgate |
Camera Operator | Jordan Maddocks |
Behind the Scenes | Will Robertson |
Post Production – The Glue Society | |
Editor | Luke Crethar |
Colourist | Scott McLean |
VFX/Online | Viv Baker |
Studio Producer | Scott Stirling |
Sound – Rumble Studios | |
Sound Engineer | Nathanial Joyce |
Executive Producer | Michael Gie |
Composition | Rumble Studios |
Photography | Janyon Boshoff |
Retouching | Limehouse Creative |
Media | Mediacom |
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