Last September, Volkswagen released a notable commercial from Deutsch that was all about the infectious power of laughter. That ad earned millions of views, and probably as many smiles. Now, though, the automaker and agency are backtracking a little. Not every laugh, it turns out, is quite so heartwarming.
VW and Deutsch have become quite accomplished together at capturing life's little moments. And this spot from Noam Murro—often this agency and client's go-to director—is no different. We won't spoil it by taking you through the plot. Check out the spot below.
The casting is great. The joke is kind of goofy but relatable—a sweet spot for VW in much of its advertising these days. And it leads perfectly into the pitch, which is that the clean-diesel Jetta TDI can go more than 600 agonizing miles without needing a fill-up.
This execution might not be quite as wonderful as last year's VW road-trip spot—in which two buddies learned Spanish in a similarly long-running Passat TDI—but it's close.
Being able to laugh at a laugh. That's the power of German engineering.
CREDITS
Client: Volkswagen of America
Executive Vice President, Chief Product and Marketing Officer: Tim Mahoney
Vice President, Marketing: Kevin Mayer
General Manager, Marketing Communications: Justin Osborne
Advertising Manager: Jeff Sayen
Advertising Specialist: Chanel Arola
Agency: Deutsch, Los Angeles
Chief Creative Officer: Mark Hunter
Group Creative Directors: Michael Kadin, Matt Ian
Senior Art Director: Karl Haddad
Senior Copywriter: Jed Cohen
Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo
Director of Content Production: Victoria Guenier
Executive Integrated Producer: Jim Haight
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Noam Murro
Executive Producer: Shawn Lacy
Head of Production: Colleen O'Donnell
Line Producer: Jay Veal
Editorial Company: Spot Welders
Editor: Haines Hall
Assistant Editor: Kai Yu
Executive Producer: David Glean
Producer: J. Patrick McElroy
Post Facility: The Mill
Color: Adam Scott
Visual Effects Company: The Mill
Producer: Rachael Trillo
Visual Effects Supervisor: James Allen
Sound Designer: 740 Sound Design & Mix
Sound Designers: Rommel Molina, Nicholas Interlandi
Executive Producer: Scott Ganary
Audio Post Company: Lime
Mixer: Rohan Young
Assistant: Jeff Malen
Producer: Jessica Locke
Additional Deutsch Credits:
Chief Executive Officer: Mike Sheldon
Group Account Director: Tom Else
Account Director: Monica Jungbeck
Account Supervisor: Amanda Rantuccio
Account Executive: Danielle Gordon
Account Planners:
Chief Strategic Officer: Jeffrey Blish
Group Planning Director: Doug Van Praet
Senior Account Planner: Nargis Pirani
Legal/Broadcast:
Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo
Associate Director of Business Affairs: Gabriela Farias
Director of Broadcast Traffic: Carie Bonillo
Broadcast Traffic Manager: Sarah Brennan