If my quick skimming of the news-printouts from my Teletype are accurate, yesterday a musician named Taylor Swift won the Super Bowl athletic festival. Good for him! Of course, for many people, one of the most important parts of the Super Bowl is the commercials shown during the event, advertising a variety of dry goods, foodstuffs, nonparishable items, or intangible, vague services like insurance. One of these commercials was for Volkswagen, and was titled (because Super Bowl commercials get to have things like titles, being, you know, Big Deals) An American Love Story. As the name implies, this ad is very America-focused, which, for VW, means it starts, conveniently, in 1949.
Before we go any further, you should probably watch the ad:
Now when I say it conveniently starts in 1949, I think you all know what I’m getting at; the Beetle actually started development, with Ferdinand Porsche in charge, in the 1930s, and was finalized in 1938 as the KdF-Wagen, which means “strength-through-joy” in German and, of course, is absolutely laden with Nazi shit.
During the war, the factory mostly made wartime Kübelwagens and Schwimmwagens and other military vehicles, with no civilians getting any cars at all. After the war, the British took over the factory, and started producing some Beetles, mostly to get defeated Germans working again. Eventually, VW as the company we know today was formed postwar, and by 1949 they were starting to get confident enough to make a few “export” versions of the very spartan Beetle with chromed bumpers and trim, nicer upholstery, and all that sort of thing, and try to sell them outside of Germany.
So, that’s where VW’s story here starts, and why we see this man:
I’m about certain that’s supposed to be Ben Pon, a Dutch importer of Volkswagens from quite early on – in 1947 he became the first to sell VWs outside of Germany, in his native Netherlands. He’s also the man who first tried to import two VWs to America, in 1949. We know the year because VW shows us in the ad:
So this has to be Ben Pon; despite the upbeat nature of the commercial, Pon did not have an easy time with his two Beetles in America – the ad, of course, just shows one. He was unable to find interested dealers, and the story goes that he had to sell one of the Beetles for $800 just to cover what he owed the Roosevelt hotel.
For reference, that’s the real Ben Pon there, trying to unload a Beetle onto a fellow hat enthusiast. Note the opening doors, for easy entry and egress! I imagine him saying.
Later on, Pon would make more VW history with a quick, crude sketch of an imagined VW commercial vehicle that would one day become the famous VW Type 2 Microbus:
From there the commercial shows some nice shots of the Beetle looking out of place on American roads, surrounded by hulking early 1950s American cars.
There’s even a little dig at American car marketing and advertising, something that Volkswagen definitely and very famously defied with its honest, humble approach taken by the Doyle Dane Bernbach ad agency, which was one of the key parts of their success in America.
I do like this fake ad they made for a generic ’50s-looking car with a colossal grille, and the inane “Bigger & Better…than last year!” tagline, which, of course, was the opposite of how VW positioned themselves.
There’s also a shot of a Beetle in a car dealership, and I wonder if this is supposed to be Max Hoffman’s Manhattan dealership, even though the cars in it other than the Beetle appear to be American, and not the Jaguars and other European cars Hoffman specialized in. Hoffman started importing Beetles in 1950, and while he wasn’t terribly successful, he did better than Pon. By 1955 VW of America was founded, and took over US sales.
Interestingly, this Beetle seems to be the same ’49 we saw on the docks earlier, with its external horn, banana-style bumper overriders, and twist-style hood handle.
That Beetle in the dealership has been spotted by these attractive beatniks:
…which I guess shows the Beetle’s enduring appeal to youth and counterculture movements.
There’s a scene that comes up soon afterwards that really caught my attention, for reasons that will be clear in a moment. It’s this cute little scene of a dad making his Beetle “talk” to his little son by opening and closing the trunk like a mouth:
This resonated with me very directly because back in 2016 I was in a documentary about the Beetle, and I did this exact same thing with my kid, Otto:
What are the odds of that? Did some ad agency see this clip and get inspired, or am I being delusional?
The scenes of people cramming into what appears to be a blue ’63 Beetle are, of course, based on real attempts to cram people into Beetles, which I’ve seen records that claim an improbable-sounding 57 and some that claim a still-impressive but more likely 20.
There’s scenes of people hitchhiking and getting picked up by a VW bus, and then some shots from Herbie movies, including this one from Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (you can tell by the external fuel filler there):
There’s also an interesting little clip from Herbie Rides Again (1974) where Herbie drives over another Beetle like a ramp, and soars off of a building:
This shot is interesting because I believe Herbie here is not the usual 1963 Beetle, but a later Beetle, I think a ’71 Super Beetle (note bumpers and front fender shape). Also, the beetle acting as a ramp has a very strange engine lid, with the twin vents of a ’70-’71 but a license plate light that’s way too low. Also, the rear window looks deeply inset, making me think the body has been reinforced there.
That’s a bit of a tangent for this VW ad, but it’s still important, dammit. Then there’s a couple clips from this famous VW commercial where a Bug gets roughed up a bit, then floated in some water:
Then, of course, we have the requisite hippies and Beetles at Woodstock, then more hippies, this time with Buses at the beach, and then the water-cooled era gets introduced, interestingly, with this short clip from the “Champagne Edition” commercial from 1978:
That commercial featured Rabbits, Sciroccos, and Dashers prominently (with a Bus and convertible Beetle in the background):
Honestly, the Champagne Edition feels like a sort of strange reference, but I suppose you can’t beat it, visually.
We also get some rallying Golfs and an interesting bit of warning/disclaimer text over a scene of people skateboarding around a Rabbit Convertible/Cabriolet:
The warning, “If you’re not living in the 70s, 80s, or 90s, do not attempt” is funny, but I’m a bit confused. Is this referring to just … skateboarding around a Rabbit Convertible at dusk, or was this retroactive for all the goings-on shown before? Well, the goings on from the 1970s to the 1990s, I guess? It’s not clear.
We then get some shots of the modern VW enthusiast scene, with many lovely lowered Beetles and Microbuses and Rabbits, then we get a short Simpsons clip about the “punch buggy” game:
Interestingly, this clip stops before the real VW action starts, as Bart and Lisa there are passing by a massive seller of classic VW Beetles:
Even more interesting is the fact that the cars featured on the Volkswagen World sign appear to be a pair of Hebmuellers! Hebmueller was a coachbuilder that made an alternate version of the convertible Beetle with a dramatically different rear body, and even a few hardtop coupés, which is what looks like is depicted on that sign. The Beetles in the lot don’t look like that, so someone knew the difference! Was this a deliberate choice by the Simpsons artists? Was there a secret VW geek on staff?
We then get some more modern VW shots and a lovely wedding with a white Tiguan (I wish that couple better luck than I’ve had) and a nice callback to one of VW’s more fun Super Bowl ads, The Force, from 2011:
That’s still fun.
The ad ends with what is clearly VW’s hopes for the future: that they can reclaim their former status as an innovative, friendly, honest maker of soulful cars – after some pretty debilitating missteps – with the new ID.Buzz electric minivan.
Will this reborn Microbus be enough to recapture what Volkswagen has, frankly, lost? Will modern versions of those 1950s beatniks actually have their attention grabbed by a passing ID.Buzz as they walk by a vintage Beetle in a window display?
Maybe. But will they be able to afford it? Volkswagen got where they are and earned their early reputation by building honest, simple, reliable cars for the people, all people, because they made affordable cars. Does VW still do that? The ID.Buzz, despite the appealing retro design, is not retro-priced. It’s not going to be able to catch on in a big way among the youth because the youth can’t afford it. It’s for now-rich people with nostalgia for the days before they were rich.
Does all of this focus on the Beetle hint at future VW plans? Will we get an electric ID.Bugg or whatever, an electric take on the Beetle? And if we do, will it be another retro-styled pastiche or will it actually strive to reach the original’s goals of affordability and accessibility for everyone?
I don’t really know, but based on recent history, I don’t think I should get my hopes up too much. Still, I’m always happy and willing to be surprised, especially by VW.
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Not one picture or mention of Ted Bundy’s two Beetles. What kind of retrospective is that?
I was thinking the same thing.
This frightens me.
I know a guy who worked on one of Terrible Ted’s VWs.
There are still a couple unsolved disappearances from that time in our area.
Tied to Ted, but never able to prove. Such an asshole.
Wait Ted had two? A man of taste in more ways than one.
VW’s ID.Buzz Superbowl ad should have been 23 years of Lucy pulling a football from Charlie Brown.
I know cultural references don’t translate well, but I can’t help but compare this ad with last year’s “Generations” ad, supposed to celebrate 70 years of Volkswagen in Brazil:
https://youtu.be/aMl54-kqphE?si=yMk73itDzK7RteG5
If the link doesn’t work, just search for “vw 70 anos” on YouTube. The ad has been actually very controversial, since they created an AI generated version of a famous Brazilian singer (who unfortunately died way too early in the eighties) driving an old VW bus alongside her daughter, who is also a singer and drives an ID.Buzz in the ad. The song’s refrain (loosely translated to “we’re still the same and we live just like our parents”) also matches the story so perfectly.
Still, despite the AI discussion a lot of people were really touched by the ad, so I’d say it was very successful from a marketing point of view. However, a similar criticism still applies as in the US: just recently VW has lobbied and succeeded in getting the import tax for electric vehicles in Brazil raised to 35%, since BYD and other Chinese companies were scaring them shitless and they don’t want to make the huge investments in order to build electric vehicles here… So the ad may be beautiful but the hypocrisy, not that much.
Once again, the Type 4 gets no respect, I tell you, no respect!
Maybe it’s because modern VWs would be embarrassed by its absurdly voluminous frunk. { slaps hood } Buddy, I can fit at least four bodies in the front of that car. At LEAST! Bring back frunks, VW.
Are you channeling Ted Bundy on purpose here or…?
“Bodies in the frunk/trunk” is merely a standard unit of measurement preferred by automotive journalists, Cadillac enthusiasts and folks whose buddy owns a hog farm.
The EV conversion industry has shown them how to make a rear motor EV Beetle. They just need to make it up to modern standards. It’s not rocket science.
And yes, it can have a frunk.
Uhh….. There’s no way they would make a rear motor feeding a four speed manual transaxle. The EV conversion industry has nothing to do with how it would make sense to build an electric beetle from the ground up.
I really hope this is a walk back of their final farewell video to the Beetle. Yes it’s origins are sketchy, but so are the ones for BMW’s logo and they still have that prominently on all their cars, and they make Minis now!
Maybe Ora’s Funky Cat got them thinking too, it looks sweet.
If they do come out with an ID.bugg it better very well have a dang FRUNK!
VW: Remember when we made reliable, affordable cars that people were passionate about? Well we’re not that company anymore but please consider buying some of our questionably reliable, expensive cars. We need to recoup our multi-million dollar investment on this commercial.
The first paragraph was pure gold.
Target market here. Totally clobbered me in the feels and had to leave the room to get another beer during the game. Those 50’s ‘hipsters’ were my mom and dad. Gone now. They bought a tomato sauce red ’57 bug, then a black over red ’64 and a red over black ’69. That ’70 white breadloaf bus? I had one just like it. The robin’s egg blue swallowtail? Mom had one of those (unslammed). Dad even had a ’78 Wolfsburg Edition Dasher wagon. Then there were a series of GTIs, including my Mom’s last one from 2015 that I’m still driving. Anyway, point is, the ad worked. Awful dusty in here.
The trends of VWs getting pricier has happened for a long time. In 1970 a bus would cost you about $25k (in today’s money) but by 1990 a Vanagon could set you back $48k (in 2023 dollars) and then puke a head gasket. If ID Buzz retailed in the $60s it’d be right on trend.
Just watched the ad and I have to say…I love it. Herbie even made an appearance! I was born far too late (1993) to experience the Beetle in its heyday. But I’ve had one, a 1972 Super Beetle, since I was 11. So, I have many fond memories of owning that car, especially once I started driving it in high school. It wasn’t my everyday car (I had a GTI for that) but this ad brings back my good memories of high school, cramming people in the Beetle, stick shift lessons to friends, driving around with no destination. My best friend and I were joking about it a while back–we are probably some of the only people our age who spent time driving around in an old Beetle, listening to the Grateful Dead, Simon and Garfunkel, and the like. I even had the Beetle with me for two years while I was in college. It’s been everywhere I’ve lived, through all phases of my life, a constant companion. I’ve been a VW guy my whole life, since watching the Herbie movies as a very small child. I have a Sportwagen TDI now, but nothing is better than getting behind the wheel of my Beetle, the car I learned to drive on. The aforementioned best friend now has a Beetle too, a 2012. I’ve enjoyed every car I’ve owned but the Beetle has a special place in my heart.
I refuse to admit to tearing up at a Large Sportsball/Marketing Event commercial as a big Beetle fan.
nope
not going to admit it
The commercial made me want to… own an old VW.
As you mentioned, the trusty, quirky cars that VWs once were inspire this sort of nostalgia. VW doesn’t make cars like that anymore. To be fair, no one does.
I know I’ll never be able to afford the ID Buzz, so every time I see one I just get sad.
This reminds my of a Honda CR-V commercial some years back that featured an EF Civic. By the end of the commercial my eyes were tearing up with love for that EF, but it did nothing at all to make me want a CR-V.
We love our Gen One CR-V
Gen ones are actually rather cool. I was more pointing out that the risk of nostalgic commercials is that you wind up realizing you like the old thing better than the new one.
It’s a 2000 and we’ve had it since 2003. It’s interesting to see them developing a bit of a following.
This combined with the “Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy!” ad really emphasizes nostalgic names that don’t represent anything like what they used to.
Some say that history repeats itself:
Does that mean in the next few years we’re going to import a dirt cheap small car to America from a country 4 years into a rebuild after its horrific dictator lost a war and then the car industry was restarted???
Welcome to the new 2030 EV Lada.
Imported from Detroit?
Yeah, you nailed it. This was entirely a nostalgia play for wealthier buyers. Note the overt inclusion of a same sex marriage. Want to know what group has an enviably high median income? Same sex couples, that’s who. I love it. This was a well targeted piece of marketing.
Does anybody else feel like somewhere along the line somebody said, Don’t forget to include some black people? They did make sure to linger on a black man in a suit so that the rest of the ‘Urban’ tropes seemed less overt. It’s almost like they weren’t marketing to black people, but instead were trying to lend some street cred to VW instead. I didn’t notice any other races repesented in three un-paused viewings, but I’m guessing there might have been an Asian or Latino or Inuit person somewhere in the backgrounds for more legitimacy, but there is no getting around the facts that this an add overtly targeted to white people. It’s almost like German executives suffer from a kind of tunnel vision.
I mean, lesbian couples have a lower household income than straight couples, but I get where you’re going with this.
I did not know that. Thanks for the info.
They’re still commodities, though, wearing traditional white gowns. Lesbian couples are less threatening in general and specifically to the straight men watching the Super Bowl and including a same-sex couple checks off a diversity box for the camera. It’s an ad, so it’s unreasonable to expect to see a lesbian couple pulling into a ’70s-era separatist commune in Oregon or four leather-clad men rolling up to The Mineshaft, I guess, but one can dream.
You’re so right. At least they kissed. I doubt they would have two men smooching.
Funny how people overwhelmingly prefer sapphic over homo stuff. Lol
Starkist don’t want Tunas with good taste. They want Tunas that taste good…
“Hey, remember the Beetle? And how cool it was when we brought it back? Yeah, we’re not doing that again.”
Exactly. Until the end, I was excited because I thought VW found religion and was announcing that the Beetle was back and going to be an affordable EV. Silly me for thinking a two-minute ad, that was mostly comprised of bug shots, was going to be about said bug.
I just can’t fathom how an ID.Beetle wasn’t announced right after the ID.Buzz. I know we enthusiasts often overestimate a car’s prominence because of it’s performance or style or whatever, but the Beetle is still an icon and will always be an icon.
The ad is a masterpiece … until the moment we realize that the product it’s selling is the electric Bus we’ve been promised for a decade. Disappointing.
Fixed it for you 😉
The ad is a masterpiece … until the moment we realize that the product it’s selling is a new* Bus we’ve been promised for over 20 years now
*the electric part wasn’t promised when vw started with the series of prototype vw bus(es) starting in what 2001?
Every writer needs a good editor. Thanks!
It’s one of the few super bowl commercials I saw and told everyone to shut up so we could listen. Seeing the ID Buzz made me think of our 86 Vanagon Westy hiding away in the barn. I’m the only one who still loves it and will never get rid of it. I think my family of 5 plus large dog would like that ID Buzz but it’s gonna be WAY out of our price range.
I’m a serial VW owner. Lots of air cooled Beetles, and a procession of well-loved Rabbits, Golfs, with a MKV Jetta and a Passat mixed in. Currently driving a MK7 GTI, and my wife’s 2015 Passat. VW took too long to bring this van to us, and they don’t care about customers that want a car company that makes fun competent cars, as they want to feed us SUVs of varying sizes. No mention of the GTI in this ad, and it has a 50 year history. If they keep it up, my next vehicle will be a relative, in the form of a used Porsche.
Comment deleted as redundant. Darn you Barth.
D’oh 🙂
Silly Torch! I think you’ll find it’s called a “sportsball match” or a “handegg duel”.
I’m assuming these items are prohibited in church and/or in parts of Louisiana.
Sheriff J.W. Pepper is on the case. If you aren’t careful he’ll call in his brother-in-law Billy Bob who has the fastest boat in the whole damn river.
I thought this might have been a dig at all of the jeebus ads last night
I got TWO babies with my king cake yesterday. Am I extra lucky or going to hell?
Well… you had cake, which is itself a lucky thing.
Apparently the finder of the baby is the king or queen for the evening. Since you found two, I’d say you have a second royalty voucher to redeem at a future evening of your choice
As Queen Lord Emperor of the West Playground (…actual nickname from high school), I declare today Puffalump Day. Hooray for Puffalumps!
The moment this ad came on screen I knew to expect an essay from you, Jason. When it started in those film-noir tones, I thought, good hell, they’re not going to give us Nazis, are they? Of course they didn’t, but I don’t think my fear was irrational.
Thank you for explicating everything I needed explicated and much more.
We have enough homegrown Nazis.
I was hoping for some un-pimping
And not a single mention of Dieselgate!
OH, SCHNAP!
If VW put half the effort into making their cars reliable and well-built as they do into cleverly advertising them, they’d be a force to be reckoned with.
It’s kind of weird how Volkswagen once went out of their way to sell consumers on the advantages of smaller vehicles. I think MINI did that at one time in the more recent past, also
I watched it and when it ended I said out loud “I have always loved Beetles.” to which my wife responded “you always have and you always will, no matter what cars you buy you always come back to them”.
Truly. No other cars have made me feel as “happy” as I do when I drive a Bug.
She wants the ID.Buzz though, so we’ll probably trade in her Tesla for that when it’s out.
Yeah there was an awful lot of time spent of vehicles they don’t make and won’t make
They really need to give us a new Punch Buggy before we shift to Slap Souls or something. Give it a frunk so we can flap the hood like it’s talking again.
I don’t even have a plug for an EV if it goes all-electric, but I don’t know if I’d be able to resist a Newer Beetle. Hell, my search for an older New Beetle for rallycross shenanigans started the day I got a new job. I think I set up a New Beetle search before my work laptop even arrived.