No, I didn’t forget how to blog. I’ve just been uber busy since returning from our adventures in August. Anyway, here’s a glimpse at one of six V-dubs I recently decorated for Baron VW to promote the latest V-dubs Rock campaign. The ad campaign is kind of cool but smacks of desperation on the surface as VW desperately tries to once again lower the demographic of the brand and appeal to younger buyers. Not that older people wouldn’t want to jam like Slash but you get what I mean.
I’ve got some MINI related stuff to post after I get some actual work done today. My next post will be about my participation in a rally of exotic cars that took place in KC over the weekend.
Posted by todd at October 16, 2006 11:57 AM | Trackback
Slash looks really old (and worn out) in that commercial anyways. Perhaps the target demographic is for those senior rockers ;-)
Posted by: DanC on October 16, 2006 12:44 PMI’m not so sure. I’m in that 18 to 25 target demographic that I just made up because I assume that’s what they’re going for with these ads. Guns ‘n’ Roses isn’t exactly in vogue with us (though I admit I’ll rock out to some Spaghetti Incident every now and then). And the other commercial with Christopher Guest won’t strike a nerve either; most people would be hard pressed to realize “Oh yea, the guy from Spinal Tap”. I didn’t know it was him until after I read about the ads on Autoblog. I saw the kilt and assumed it was Angus Young from AC/DC (and I remember thinking “Damn, Angus looks like hell these days”).
And by the way, First Act, who makes the guitars for VW, is a bargain barrel guitar company. They make the guitars you can buy at Wal-Mart for under a hundred bucks.
Posted by: Joshua on October 16, 2006 12:46 PMJosh - you hit it on the head. Between Slash and Christopher Guest from Spinal Tap you get a sense that the commercials were put together by “old” people trying to be young and hip. Spinal Tap came out in 1984 - that’s 22 years ago.
The John Mayer ad is pretty cool though where he grabs the door of the car like a whammy bar.
I guess maybe VW is trying to appeal to folks approaching 40 who want to feel young and hip. And you’re right about the guitar too. Kinda cheap but that’s coming from someone who’s owned the same Les Paul limited since high school which is when I first saw Spinal Tap. : )
Posted by: todd on October 16, 2006 12:59 PMI had a First Act once. The paint began to flake after a few weeks, and the wood underneath looked like pressboard. One of the pickups didn’t work, a fret was loose, and I’m pretty sure everything else that went wrong with it I blocked out.
I haven’t seen the John Mayer ad yet, but c’mon? John Mayer? I like the guy and he is a good musician, but he doesn’t exactly have street cred.
Posted by: Joshua on October 16, 2006 01:39 PMMy reaction to the current VW ad campaign is that if the best thing they can say about a VW is that you can plug your guitar into it, then it definitely won’t motor.
Posted by: BumbleBee on October 16, 2006 01:47 PMI agree with Todd, how many kids under 25 know Spinal Tap and the guys who made up the “group”? None of my kids (between 20-25) even knew Slash by sight. And John Mayer is a “young” artist that seems to mostly appeal to the 40+ set.
I don’t know what age group VW is trying for, but in my neck of the woods, it’s mostly young women and the 40+ set that drive the bugs.