Same Car, Different Campaigns, Major Decision To Make

here's something you might not know about me: i love Volkswagens. the first (and only) car I ever bought was a 1989 VW Jetta GL. i bought it in '94 with 76,000 miles on it for $7,676. it was a sweet car and i loved it. unfortunately, i let it rot in my driveway in '03 and had to have it hauled to the junkyard before i moved to boston. phillip and i are (hopefully) going to buy our first car together in the near future, and i was hoping we find a VW we can afford.

so that brings me to the VW ad campaign for the new GTIs. there are two campaigns running right now, but they are both totally different in tone and design. the first example is the campaign i like. it's funny, pokes fun at the MTV generation, and stars one of my favorite actors, Peter Stormare. it makes me giggle every time i see it. check it out.


here are two more for you to enjoy.

then you have the GTI campaign that features the "fast" creature. if you ask me, that's the dumbest name/idea they could have thought of. it looks like an evil rabbit. oh, i get it! VW used to produce the rabbit! is that where they got it from? and what's up with the slogan? "Make Friends with your Fast"? that's a little too close to "Obey your Thirst", for me. anyway, i hate this campaign because it's rude and totally sexist. we see guys in their new GTI's telling their wives/girlfriends that no, they can't ride with them because they would "rather not carry the extra weight" as they want to keep things streamlined.


or how about the other one where the guy driving refuses to close the windows? he says it's hard for him to hear the sound of the engine "over all that yakkin'!" totally rude and disrespectful.

i think the second GTI campaign is sexist because it only shows men buying/driving/speeding in these cars. are we supposed to believe that women don't drive sporty VWs? we do. but how does VW expect us to plunk down $25K when their advertising tells us that (essentially) we don't matter?

i'm also disappointed in this campaign because it solidifies and perpetuates the misogyny that surrounds volkswagen. it's no secret that VW treats the female buyer differently than the male. and i can back that up with specifics, since like i mentioned above, i was a VW owner for 9 years. after being mistreated at the dealership one too many times, i decided to never bring my VW to a dealer again for repairs. they didn't deserve my business.

while i really enjoy the first campaign which totally pokes fun at MTV's Pimp My Ride, the second campaign makes me re-think my desire for another VW. on one hand, i know a lot about VWs, their quirks, and how they run. but on the other hand, i don't want my money going to a juvenile, misogynistic corporation that is using a toy and a complete lack of respect for women to sell cars.

so i have some thinking to do.