Influx

There’s a lot of buzz for this viral video from VW (currently close to 2 million views on YouTube).

It’s clever and entertaining, but I keep wondering why it is we like it and I can only assume it’s because it shows a brand really going out of its way to make people’s lives more fun.

You could hire an expensive director and produce an elaborate ad that shows exactly the same thing, but it would not have half the power or potency, which tells us something about the weakness of advertising.

The VW film is engaging and interactive because there’s an interesting concept (the challenge of an alternative route), you know its real and you want to see how the people react (will they take the long road, if it’s more fun) and this is the piece that draws you in.

In reality, it’s the next best thing to make a great product, it’s clever, live experiential communication that can be shared.

While the linkage of the idea to VW is a little stretched, you overlooked that and end up just feeling good about the brand.

I guess there’s a lesson here.

How can you create something real that has a conceptual idea at it’s heart and provides a fun, interesting, positive and engaging experience for people?

Posted by Ed Cotton