Greatest VW commercial ever! by TheHappyTrader

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Greatest VW commercial ever!

POSTED BY: THEHAPPYTRADER
UPDATED: Friday, February 18, 2011 23:34
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VIEWED: 2014
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Monday, February 14, 2011 3:38 PM

I saw this on a friends facebook, I think it aired during the super bowl. I want one! Well... doesn't have to be that one, just a VW that works, or frankly just a 'that works.'

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Monday, February 14, 2011 5:53 PM

FREMDFIRMA

I like Hondas one better.

It appeals to my inner Spark, hehehe.

-F

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Monday, February 14, 2011 6:27 PM

THEHAPPYTRADER

I can't argue with a Goldberg machine, you win!

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Monday, February 14, 2011 6:48 PM

CANTTAKESKY

The Force went viral I understand. I watched it about 5 times myself. :)

-------
Hell, the only reason the Government hates crime at all is that it despises competition. - Frem

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Monday, February 14, 2011 9:32 PM

CUDA77

Like woman, I am a mystery.

Ok, those both were amazing. I thought the Force one was the best commercial I'd seen since last year's Old Spice ones but that Honda one has made the debate very interesting. I honestly don't know which one I loved more.

EDIT: Ah wait, I see that that Honda one is from a few years ago. So the VW Force one retakes the position of best recent commercial. But that Honda Goldberg machine one is truly genius.

Socialist and unashamed about it.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011 12:18 AM

DREAMTROVE

I cant even see the video boxes, but I remember the commercials. Clearly, they were successful.... Almost

Advertising is tricky. I would not have been able to tell you which cars the ads were for. Until people said Honda, I would have thought the Goldberg ad was Toyota.

Everyone remembers the VW ad where the engineers are standing in a circle and the driver has to not hit them, because it was drawing up images of Nazi Germany, including the tagline "in germany we aphave a reputation for fanatical thoroughness." so, yes, memorable, but positive?

It's hard to make an ad campaign like the gothic "taste the rainbow" skittles ads or the energizer bunny that is memorable, positive, and correctly associated. As an ad, it does no use tot he company if we're left thinking "remember that great ad for coke, or pepsi. Or some soft drink or other?"

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011 2:57 AM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

If memory serves, the Honda ad ("Cog", I believe it was called) was actually stitched together from two takes. They actually filmed the thing over 600 times trying to get it all in one take. No CGI was used - everything you see is actual parts from the Accord shown in the ad.

Most people don't recognize it as a Honda here because that car has never been available in the U.S. We get a completely different Accord here (and no wagon version at all since 1997), which is much larger, with completely different styling.

Incidentally, the car you see in the commercial *IS* being sold in the U.S. now - just not as a Honda. It's being billed as the new Acura TSX SportWagon, complete with Acura's ugly new grill.

http://www.acura.com/modellanding.aspx?model=tsx%20sport%20wagon

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011 3:10 AM

KWICKO

Quote:
Originally posted by DREAMTROVE:
I cant even see the video boxes, but I remember the commercials. Clearly, they were successful.... Almost

Advertising is tricky. I would not have been able to tell you which cars the ads were for. Until people said Honda, I would have thought the Goldberg ad was Toyota.

Everyone remembers the VW ad where the engineers are standing in a circle and the driver has to not hit them, because it was drawing up images of Nazi Germany, including the tagline "in germany we aphave a reputation for fanatical thoroughness." so, yes, memorable, but positive?

Actually, I *don't* remember that one. I remember several other VW commercials, like the "Da-da-da" one which used Trio's song of the same name, or the one with the couple moving to their new house and rocking out to "Molly's Chambers" - the music got my attention in both cases, and made me remember the brand. Notice I said it made me remember the BRAND, not the car. I don't remember what specific models those commercials were for - Jetta, Golf, Rabbit, Passat, etc. - but I remember they were for Volkswagen. And they're positively associated in my head, because I liked the songs.

Advertising is as much art as it is science.

I don't understand why Honda have put "The Only Living Boy In New York" in their new series of ads for the Accord, but I have to admit, it's working. I've liked the song for years, and I've really liked some Accords, but the song wouldn't seem to be designed to evoke positive feelings about a car. Could just be that it triggers a nostalgia of some sort.

Quote:

It's hard to make an ad campaign like the gothic "taste the rainbow" skittles ads or the energizer bunny that is memorable, positive, and correctly associated. As an ad, it does no use tot he company if we're left thinking "remember that great ad for coke, or pepsi. Or some soft drink or other?"

Actually, making an ad that is egregiously BAD is quite effective, too.

What was that stuff you were supposed to "Apply directly to the forehead. Apply directly to the forehead. Apply directly to the forehead!" ? :D (I'm being facetious; I remember what it was called, and I bet you do, too)

Anyone remember that one?

I rest my case.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011 4:30 AM

CANTTAKESKY

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
If memory serves, the Honda ad ("Cog", I believe it was called) was actually stitched together from two takes. They actually filmed the thing over 600 times trying to get it all in one take.

They explain the behind-the-scenes here.

-------
Hell, the only reason the Government hates crime at all is that it despises competition. - Frem

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011 7:53 AM

THEHAPPYTRADER

Quote:
Notice I said it made me remember the BRAND, not the car. I don't remember what specific models those commercials were for - Jetta, Golf, Rabbit, Passat, etc.

Eh, those are all pretty much the same parts enemy, believe me, I've scavenged.

Ok, the Passat is a little different.

Unsurprisingly, my car has died again. My g/f's brother is looking at if for me, he is a very talented mechanic, and he says I need a new ignition coil. I don't doubt him, but the car quit working while it was already running and then wouldn't start again. I suspect there's something else to fix after this, but do you think it's likely the ignition coil is at fault for that as well?

I can't wait until the new jobs finally starts and I can save up to buy a new old car. My g/f is already looking for options within my prospective price range, but I just can't get into that until I have the money to actually make it happen. She found a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero, manual trans she likes (yikes, she's trying to to decide the car I will drive, might as well get married). I think I remember frem speaking highly of the Alero though, what do my favorite online gearheads think of that model?

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011 10:11 AM

FREMDFIRMA

Alero ?
Well, mine is a 1999 GLS, Auto.

THE GOOD
Hands down, the handling, it corners like a cat on carpet, it does, PROVIDED you have fresh brakes.

Also, the engine is as solid as they come, but I doubt that is the same engine in the car you're looking at.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_LA1_engine#LA1

You'll prolly get stuck with that LD9 twin cam pain in the ass, and if so, make friends with the dealer, cause you'll be seein him a lot.

THE BAD
Every bloody thing else, the radio is shit, defroster failed immediately, climate control is pure junk and a bitch to work on, passkey II system failure so damn common that there's big business in modules to bypass it, since when it DOES fail, you ain't goin NOWHERE.
(mine is rewired with a manual cutout switch)
Basically NONE of the critter comforts outside of critical mechanicals are any kind of reliable, and unless you have the six-banger, neither is the engine.

THE UGLY
The brakes.
Expect to replace them every 1500-1800 miles, unless you like that shrieking, rumbling, shaking effect coming from your front end, which throws out your alignment, weakens your suspension and shreds your tires as well.

The egghead engineers who designed it screwed up the heat distribution completely (something I rectified partially with a couple well placed holes punched in the damn thing and removal of the drag plate) and what happens is that the rotors warp, which chews the everliving shit out of the calipers.

Then you get your choice, the upgraded and expensive rotors, for maybe 3500 miles, or the OEM crappy ones for another maybe 1800.

Oh, and did I mention the wheel bearings fail on a regular basis besides, aided along by the shimmy and shake from the warped brake rotors ?

Seriously, walk away, hell, RUN away - cause I can almost guarantee you that car has been lemon-lawed already for the brakes (51% of ALL Aleros have been), and so you'd be pouring your money down a hole.

Now, if you want some el cheapo, get to work, no fancy schmancy boring-ass car which'll get you by day after day, get your hands on something like a Saturn Ion - something like a used corporate lease vehicle or former rental, which stands a chance of actually having maintanence run on it once in a while, versus run-till-broke, then fix-n-sell, which is what most private sales is gonna be.

Sure, the Ion is cheap and boring, but it's reliable, repairable, and reasonably fuel efficient without being so puny and frail you fear for your life (do you HEAR me, Ford Focus?!) and on the bright side, nobody's gonna steal it, and your insurance company will take pity on you.

-Frem

I do not serve the Blind God.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011 10:23 AM

THEHAPPYTRADER

Oh goodness, thanks for the warning. There was a Nissan Frontier that caught my eye, but that prolly won't be practical on account of my musical instruments. I have a friend who has owned a Saturn sedan since 2002 and it wasn't new when he bought it, so I'll keep my eye out for Saturns when I have a little dough.

I'd basically just like to find a reliable car that doesn't screw me over insurance wise and can get me to and from work, gigs, lessons etc... Oh, and a stick, I prefer to drive a stick and I think they are cheaper that way anyway. Course, this is prolly a purchase in a month and some change at the soonest.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011 11:17 AM

PHOENIXROSE

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

A tiny little geek is always a pretty good way to make me smile. So cute ^_^

I still remember the ad where a guy gets a phone call from his future self, telling him to "Buy the Passat," and run when he saw Becky.

The Honda Cog commercial is by far one of the coolest things ever, even cooler that they insisted on no special effects (and hence a more expensive commercial, actually) and it all just... worked. I first saw it on Snopes.

I'm still a Subaru girl through and through, though. My baby's got 150,000 miles and only one major repair on her. She's lasted me six faithful years so far and wasn't even new when I got her. They basically have a customer for life in me. (They've just started replacing the timing belt with a chain that doesn't need replacing. Can't wait to get one of those someday!)

Ritual is what happens when we run out of rational.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2011 10:43 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Never saw the Honda thing, and my jaw

. they’re right, I “stopped in their tracks and was in awe”. The DELICACY; I don’t care if it was two takes or 600, it’s still fantastic.

The other one was, from what I saw, a Super Bowl commercial...they previewed those for days before the game. It’s cute, but I wasn’t impressed...I liked the Doritos one much better:

Now THAT made me laugh!

While we’re talking cars, I ADORE my Nissan Maxima...but it has electrical problems which cost us a LOT of money, and all the shops I took it to said that’s not unusual. Still, it’s holding up better than the MUCH newer used Volvo we bought just last year, and Maxi is over ten years old! (Tho' I DO like the heated seats on the Volvo...especially as it's heater is the shits and its front window fogs up something fierce. Maxi's heater, on the other hand, starts off REAL fast, and she doesn't fog up.)

Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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Wednesday, February 16, 2011 4:17 PM

KWICKO

Quote:
Originally posted by TheHappyTrader:
Oh goodness, thanks for the warning. There was a Nissan Frontier that caught my eye, but that prolly won't be practical on account of my musical instruments. I have a friend who has owned a Saturn sedan since 2002 and it wasn't new when he bought it, so I'll keep my eye out for Saturns when I have a little dough.

I'd basically just like to find a reliable car that doesn't screw me over insurance wise and can get me to and from work, gigs, lessons etc... Oh, and a stick, I prefer to drive a stick and I think they are cheaper that way anyway. Course, this is prolly a purchase in a month and some change at the soonest.

Search for a '94-'97 Honda Accord wagon. it'll fit more stuff in it than you'd believe, was available with a 5-speed manual, and is dead-solid reliable. I sold my '91 5-speed wagon a couple years ago, and regretted it as it was leaving my driveway. Goddam good car. Had over 280k when I sold it. Paid $4000, beat on it for a decade, sold for $2000 - and the guy who bought it still loves it, and has driven it to California and back three times since he got it.

"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservatives." - John Stuart Mill

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Wednesday, February 16, 2011 6:09 PM

THEHAPPYTRADER

I was thinking about an older honda actually, my Dad and Uncle took two crx's out of a junkyard last year along with a lot of spare parts, and combined them into one mostly function racecar for the "twenty four hours of 'Lemons'" race. I like the idea of a wagon for instrument transportation, and being a honda I'm sure it gets good mileage. Thanks to dad and uncle's tinkering, they could probably help me work on it if there should be any problems. When this new program finally gets off the ground and I can put some money aside, I think I will be looking at old hondas, 'specially an accord wagon if I should come across one.

Pheonix, I would LOVE to own a subaro, (I grew up in surrounded by swamp woods and dirt roads, so the idea of a car or wagon with AWD is very appealing to me) but they are just too expensive for me at this point in my life.

My girlfriends brother is gonna help me nurse my GTI back to health (only charing me for parts), but it dieing on me on valentines day was the last straw. I aim to replace it as soon as I am able. I know VW's are usually great cars, the 97 jetta I owned before made it too 400,000miles before a wreck totaled it (and by totaled I mean it bent an axle and deployed the airbags, the car crawled with it's bent axle onto a trailer under it's own power, still running strong) but this GTI's previous owner had modified it and effected some jury rigged repairs that I think are basically all failing on me this year.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 11:34 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.