The spot, called "getaway", is the latest instalment in the Passat campaign, which shows the extreme lengths that Passat owners will go to in order to keep their car in mint condition.
The ad is a tongue-in-cheek spoof of a bank robbery gone wrong in downtown Los Angeles. It opens with the getaway car driver seen driving slowly and carefully away from the scene of the crime, much to the dismay of his accomplices, to make sure no damage is done to his Passat. It ends with the sound of police car sirens rapidly closing in while the getaway driver is shown taking a speed bump at a snail's pace. The endline runs: "Beautifully crafted Passat: you'll want to keep it that way."
"Like all the commercials in this campaign, this one features a driver whose only thought is to keep his Passat pristine," Ewan Paterson, a joint creative director at BMP, said. "However, while the six previous commercials have been set in the everyday world and have been very real, we decided it was time to move the campaign on so we set the idea in the film world of a heist movie."
A print campaign is running in motoring press such as What Car?, and consumer titles such as GQ, as well as the weekend supplements of national newspapers.
The creative uses "cut-outs" of objects that Passat owners can use to stop their friends borrowing their car. One execution features a fuel gauge registering empty and the line: "Cut out and stick on." The copy runs: "The fake empty fuel gauge. Ideal for when your friend asks to borrow your Passat." A second execution shows a car key accompanied by text urging Passat owners to leave it on the floor of their car so they can claim to potential borrowers that the keys are locked inside.
Separately, VW has opted to run a slightly risque commercial, which features a little girl saying "bollocks" at a string of unlucky events that befall her. It will run as an online-only viral execution.
The 40-second ad, designed to promote VW's range of diesels, shows the girl cursing at events such as her local sweet shop being closed or spilling water on a painting. The final scene shows her dad filling his VW with petrol instead of diesel. When he realises, he says: "Bollocks." The shot closes with the little girl in the backseat watching her dad. The endline runs: "VW. Don't forget it's a diesel."
"Getaway" was written and art directed by the joint creative directors, Jeremy Craigen and Paterson. Direction was by Dominic Murphy through Partizan. Print was by Paterson, Rob Jack and Mark Reddy.
Media planning and buying was handled by MediaCom.
"Bollocks" was written and art directed by Dan Hubert and Amber Casey.
Direction was by Jackie Oudney through Bliss Films.
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