Volkswagen Launches “Let’s Go For A Drive” Brand Platform & First Campaign In Seven Years, Via DDB

Experiencing the joy of driving is the inspiration behind DDB’s new brand campaign for Volkswagen Group Australia.

The creative concept is centred around the simple life of a lighthouse keeper working and living on an island. With little reason to drive his car around the small island, it is the mail delivery that allows him to get behind the wheel of his Volkswagen and experience the joy of driving.

Launching last night, the brand campaign is Volkswagen’s first in seven years and introduces a new and enduring brand platform for the automotive company and the platform “Let’s Go For A Drive” led by the power of television for brand building and emotional connection.

The brand campaign is so important for Volkswagen because it focused the company with a North Star and will build in more desirability and feeling into the brand given the competitive market dynamics with new entrants and product volatility. Film is a key storytelling vehicle to build this emotion.

Directed by award-winning and renowned Australian commercial director Steve Rogers from Revolver, the new campaign draws inspiration from the creative philosophy where the creative idea and execution is as important as the message.

DDB executive creative director, Matt Chandler said working with an iconic brand such as Volkswagen needed an innovative concept that would go beyond the functional and that with Volkswagen, the experience of spending time in a quality car is something everyone deserves to experience.

“It’s not every day you get the opportunity to develop work for such an iconic brand that has such a rich heritage of advertising. With all that past work in mind, we wanted to tell a very simple story, beautifully. One that brings to life the simple joys of taking even the shortest drive. We’re very proud of this little tale and very fortunate to have brought it to life with such great clients and production partners.”

Volkswagen Passenger Vehicles managing director, Michal Szaniecki said the company had complete faith in DDB’s bold yet simplistic approach to the campaign.

“There are great synergies between DDB and Volkswagen, both in the present and in years gone by, and we have seen that play out throughout the development of this campaign.

We felt a connection to the creative concept from the beginning and felt it spoke directly to who we are as a brand and how we want people to feel when driving our cars,” he said.

“We are incredibly proud of the outcome and the way it represents the experience of driving with Volkswagen.”

DDB creative partner, Jenny Mak said that working with Volkswagen ignited a depth of creativity among the team to ensure they conveyed the transformative power of driving a Volkswagen, and that needed to come across in the campaign.

“Great cars don’t just take you somewhere, they make you feel something. And some cars simply do it better than others. There’s a transformative power that comes from spending time in a quality car, and it’s a power everyone deserves to experience. The brand campaign is offering an invitation to people to remember what driving can be – an invitation that says – “let’s go for a drive”.

The Volkswagen Group is one of the world’s leading car makers, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. It operates globally, with 114 production facilities in 29 countries.

In 2024, the Volkswagen Group will launch numerous new models on the market, including many all-electric vehicles such as the Volkswagen ID.4, ID.5 and the ID. Buzz.

The TV campaign, which launched Sunday, 25 February is running nationwide and is supported by out-of-home, digital & social.

Credits

Agency: DDB

National Chief Creative Officer – Stephen de Wolf

Executive Creative Director – Matt Chandler

Creative Partner – Jenny Mak

Associate Creative Director – Simon Koay

Associate Creative Director – Steven Hey

Head of Brand Performance – Michael Sinclair

Senior Strategist – Tom Witcombe

Head of Integrated Content – Adrian Jung

Senior Producer – Liz Nunan

Managing Partner – Nick Russo

Senior Business Director – Nicole Drabsch

Client: Volkswagen Australia

Managing Director – Michal Szaniecki

General Manager Marketing and Product – Ralph Beckmann

Brand Communications and Sponsorship Specialist – Peter Perivolarellis

Production Company: Revolver

Director – Steve Rogers

Managing Director/Co-Owner – Michael Ritchie

Executive Producer/Partner – Pip Smart

Producer – Caroline Kruck

DOP – Simon Duggan

Production Designer – Steven Jones-Evans

Edit House: Arc Edit

Editor – Jack Hutchings

Post Production: Alt VFX

Post Supervisor – Jay Hawkins

Colourist – Trish Cahill

Sound House: Rumble

Sound Design – Tone Aston