Lemon
The Famous Volkswagen Campaign.
The legendary Volkswagen campaign is considered by many in my industry to be the best advertising of all time. It was groundbreaking, because it brought a sense of humour to Madison Avenue, it brought high concept, it brought witty writing, and it made an icon out of what was possibly the ugliest car ever made. Here, I look at one of the most famous print ads from that 1960s campaign, the infamous "Lemon" ad. It is said this was the first time in history that an advertiser said it was capable of turning out an inferior product. But the public took to it immediately, because the ad talked in a language the public had never heard before.
Here's where I break the ad down and analyze the persuasion and craftsmanship at work.
Click on the - and + button to zoom in or out, then click on the orange dots to break the ad down.
1 |
That Headline
Shocking. "Lemon" is the worst thing you can say about a car. But the decision to use that toxic word contains the ad's legendary power. It also proves how good DDB was at selling risky work to clients. |
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2 |
Headline with a period.
Makes it a statement. David Ogilvy never used periods in headlines. Bill Bernbach loved them. I’m with Bill. |
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3 |
Wit.
The first car advertising with a sense of humour. Everything else was sober and dead earnest. "See The USA in your Chevrolet!" was the state of the art at that time. |
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4 |
Short, intriguing first line of copy.
Draw the reader in. As a print copywriter, I sweated over this line. I knew if the headline was good enough, it would bring people to the first line of copy. But the first line of copy had to pull them into the story. |
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5 |
Explain the headline quickly.
Don’t want “lemon” lingering about too long. In order to serve up an explosive headline like "Lemon" you have to be able to defuse the bomb quickly - and turn the headline around into a surprising positive. |
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6 |
Stats are powerful.
"More inspectors than cars." Another reason to love the car. Again, takes the poison out of the headline. |
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7 |
Standards.
This is a “high standards story.” The copy skillfully tells you a story about how important quality is to VW. If you've got a reader smiling and enjoying the ride, your job as a writer is done. Go have a beer. |
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8 |
Funny use of a German word.
“Fahrvergnügen” anyone? Charm, humour, smiles. A great writer drops bonbons into the copy, small treats to keep the reader reading. Little "thank you's for giving us your time" goodies. |
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9 |
The big benefit of high standards.
Ah - the "what's in it for me?" portion of the program. In the end, to make an ad truly motivating, in order for a consumer to draw a conclusion, the ad has to as well. |
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10 |
A funny last line.
True sign of a great copywriter. Tying the bow on the package. |
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11 |
Look what’s not here – a slogan.
Legendary DDB Creative Director Bob Levenson, who worked on this campaign, told me they thought slogans were extraneous on VW ads - because VWs eliminated everything that was extraneous in the engineering. |
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12 |
Logo is not in the usual right hand corner. Surprise.
Another Helmut Krone touch. A truly pioneering art director. |
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13 |
Great product shot. Lots of interesting headroom.
Great composition. Highly unusual to give away this much white space in that era. But it defined the VW look, making the VW look both humble and heroic at the same time. Superb art direction by the legendary Helmut Krone. |
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14 |
A typeface developed circa 1959, still in use today in VW ads.
Thank you Helmut Krone. |
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15 |
I once had dinner with Helmut Krone.
He told me he had to ram this ad down Bill Bernbach’s throat. I’ll tell you that story another time. It’s a good one. |
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