Hasta La Creative!

There aren’t many marketing executives who would advertise a convertible as the perfect ride for a freezing winter day–or a sunny night. But that’s what Kevin Mayer, VP-marketing for Volkswagen Group of America, is doing in a campaign for the all-new Beetle convertible.

Mr. Mayer and his agency, Deutsch, created a new spot showing a young woman awakened in the wee hours by her boyfriend. But as they tool around town in his Beetle convertible, we see the sun is up, but the streets are deserted. The reason? They’re driving around Fairbanks, Alaska, so-called “Land of the Midnight Sun.” The tagline: “Perfect for a sunny night. The all-new Beetle convertible.” The spot follows one that has been running for some time showing a masked man walking into a convenience store. The cringing cashier fears he’s about to rob the joint. But when the oblivious masked man returns to the car, viewers can see that he and his friends are wearing masks because they’re driving the Beetle convertible on a winter day.

Marketing spending for the Volkswagen brand has shot up in recent years, jumping from just $200 million when Deutsch won the account in 2009 to more than $360 million in recent years. The company, which also operates Audi, Bentley and Porsche among other brands, ranks as the country’s 58th largest national advertiser, according to Ad Age’s DataCenter.

Continue reading at AdAge.com