Volkswagen Polo - Sell Your Car

The brief
The brief was to create a newspaper ad to advertise the desirable (yet affordable) Volkswagen Polo. Our research showed that when you see a Polo, you want one, so we targeted people in the market for a new car and placed our ad in the Motoring section.

The creative solution
Working off the “love at first sight” strategy, we ran a double-sided ad. The front set up the desire, while the back allowed a unique response. Using the ad helped readers to sell their current car, while at the same time helping us advertise the Polo. In effect, this symbiosis turned a print ad into an ambient one. Our expectation was that if just a small fraction of readers (even 1%) used the ad, it would extend the message of Polo’s desirability to a far wider audience than just that of the paper.
It was a simple, cheeky idea, asking people to get rid of their car upon seeing ours, and getting them to use their own vehicle to help punt the Polo – ideal for a brand that has always relied on simple, cheeky communication.

The results
The interaction between consumers and the ad turned car windows into a new media space. Our target market’s own cars (most of them competitor models like Toyotas and Fords) became mini billboards for the Polo’s sheer desirability. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence suggested that approximately 3% of readers used the ad – meaning that our simple, low-cost idea generated thousands of dollars in earned outdoor media.

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy Cape Town, South Africa
Executive Creative Director: Chris Gotz
Creative Director: Chris Gotz
Art Director: Prabashan G. Pather
Copywriter: Sanjiv Mistry
Year: 2011
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