This new Volkswagen ad from Norway follows a modern ad formula to communicate the message and extend the brand beyond just the commercial. First, take a look at the spot:
First, this ad captures your attention in the first 3-5 seconds, something that’s critical today as 90% of us are ready to click “Skip Ad” the second an ad pops up. The car going in reverse immediately grabs you and gets people to stick around a little bit longer to watch.
Second, it feels authentic. The video shows the reactions of unsuspecting people in this small town as they marvel at the bizarre site of a car traveling backward, at high speeds, with a trailer. Again and again, it turns people’s heads. Once you’ve seen the car driving backward, the novelty of that wears off, but now you stay tuned to watch the reactions of other people.
Next, it keeps your attention by making you question if it is real – is the car’s driver really that good? Like many “viral videos” these days, you wonder if there’s a trick to it. You start watching even more closely to watch for “tricks.”
That’s when it delivers the message – in 2 sentences. By the end of 60 seconds, you start wondering, “so what’s the point of this,” and that’s when the message is delivered with simple clarity. It pulls the visual and the message together to tell the consumer what they need to remember.
Finally, the kicker at the end is a payoff for their questioning and wonder – offering to let the consumer “see how we did it.” It also encourages them to go beyond the 60 spot they just watched and spend even more time interacting with the brand and message.
All of these things follow somewhat of a formula for modern commercials, where you have to consider the context of how it’s going to be viewed. It’s often viewed either on the computer or with a mobile device nearby, so you have to consider all of these elements. This presents challenges – such as capturing and keeping attention – as well as great opportunities to deliver the message and get the consumer to spend even more time with the brand.
Now that you’ve watched the spot, see how they did it:
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