Why I Got Into Advertising

This commerical debuted for the Volkswagen Cabrio in 2000 and I believe that it’s as close to what I once read someone call “advertising poetry” as there ever has been. I was fifteen and a freshman in high school when it came out, and even today I can remember how I felt the first time I saw it. Obviously there is a reason for that.

What this spot does so well is something I think most mediocre advertisers forget and overlook nowadays. People are, by their very nature, emotional beings. They respond to emotional messages. They respond to feelings. Great advertising is emotional, not rational. It touches something inside of you that you can’t pinpoint. But you know it’s there. You can feel it pulling and influencing you. They often forget that when people buy a car they're not buying it for the features or for the fact that it can get you from point A to point B. At least not subconsciously. They're buying it for the emotions that driving evokes. VW's agency at the time, Arnold Worldwide, tapped into these emotions. They tapped into the feelings of being young and carefree, of driving around aimlessly with the top down. And they did so not only brilliantly, but beautifully.

The fact that they used the late English folksinger Nick Drake doesn’t bother me, even if Pink Moon is about suicide and depression as its rumored to be. It’s such a pure and honest song that goes so well with the visuals that you just can’t help but be moved by it. It’s funny that it's a goddamn car ad like this that actually moves people nowadays.

VW's recent and similiar "Night Driving" Golf spot from Noam Murro and DDB London this summer, although very good, evoked few of the same feelings as this in such human a way.

The thing that really intrigues me about commercials like these are their persuasive simplicity. So simple and straightforward. No words. Yet so complex and moving all at the same time. This one in particular captures a feeling that only lasts for a short period of time but is one that is timeless in the sense that you never forget it. Teen love. The gazing of the boy in the backseat is a look that we can all identify with.

And I love that it defies convention. It captures that feeling that we all have but often do not want to give in to, especially when we’re young. The feeling of making the less popular decision. Of backing away from the party and going driving under the moonlight instead. It addresses a much larger issue than car advertising in that regard, almost as if it's VW's way of telling young people that what's popular isn't always right. That you can have a much better time "driving through this life" if you do what others don't. If you just take the "higher road," so to speak. (Pardon the necessary puns). Commercials such as these emotionally interact with their targets and create an attachment, and that's really what it's all about for most brands nowadays.

And the look on the girl's face at the end gives me goosebumps.

Every time.

dubs. out.