PoloDriver

Two world champion Tango dancers, reams of fake tattoos, one Volkswagen Polo and a wire brush. They’re just some of the ingredients of the new Polo TV commercial, currently airing in the UK. The new advert seems to be getting positive responses from user of Facebook, which proves that Volkswagen’s choice of an online social media marketing campaign to promote the commercial could be the right one. Since our first post about the 60-second spot’s debut on 10 November, we’ve learnt that the ad is called ‘Last Tango In Compton’ and was directed by supremo commercial director Jonathan Glazer.

With quite a track record, having made easily recognisable campaigns for Guiness (‘Surfers’), Sony (‘Paint’) and Levi’s (Odyssey), Glazer has actually shot a Polo commercial before, working on 1998’s ‘Protection‘ series of TV spots. Shot in North London, ‘Last Tango in Compton’ features Gasper Godoy and Manuella Rossi dancing a commissioned piece by one of the world’s foremost choreographers with a setup of over 20 different cameras simultaneously following their moves. Volkswagen UK plan to release behind the scenes footage, and above is the first film. Watch through to 03:39 for the commercial itself; more details and photos can be seen on Volkswagen UK’s Polo Facebook campaign page.

Volkswagen Polo ‘Last Tango In Compton’ TV campaign credits
Project Name: Volkswagen Polo
TVC: Last Tango in Compton
Client: Sarah Clayton-Jones, Nigel Brotherton and Rod Mcleod, Volkswagen UK
Creative Agency: DDB UK
Executive Creative Director: Jeremy Craigen
Copywriter: Dave Henderson
Art Director: Richard Denney
Account Planner: Leo Rayman and Tom Lloyd
Production Company: Academy Films
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Director of Photography: Dan Landin
Agency TV Producer: Sarah Browell and Lucinda Ker
Producer: Ben Link
Media Agency: MediaCom
Media Planner: Louise Pastou, Emma Franklin
Account Team: Jonathan Hill, Paul Billingsley, Matt Delahunty and Harriet Bates
Sound Design: Soundtree/Wave
Editor: Paul Watts, The Quarry
VFX Supervision and Post production: One of Us Studios

The drip feed is over. Volkswagen UK has been using Facebook as a platform to drum up interest in its new advertising campaign for the Polo. It’s been releasing tiny details over several days this week, up to the 60-second commercial’s debut on TV last night. Soundtracked to Don’t Stop by Roc C, it shows two world championship tango dancers – Manuela Rossi and Gaspar Godoy – interpreting a brutal if graceful version of the traditional South American dance. Like Volkswagen International’s Fast Lane campaign for the Polo GTI, the social media promotion seems to work well. Is the commercial any good? See it for yourself by clicking on the video above, and find out more about the dancers and also how the ad was created by visiting Volkswagen UK’s ‘Tough. Beautiful. Polo.’ Facebook page.

German car magazine Auto Bild has released a video on its website showing the making of the ‘With All Senses’ Polo TV spot, currently airing in mainland Europe. To our surprise, it was shot in Pinewood Studios just outside London, and features an enormous inflatable ‘Photo Bubble’ in which was the car, the actors, and all the production staff. Made entirely in the artificially-lit temporary studio, the Polo is shown in a simple, clean, and ‘beautiful’ setting, according to Auto Bild. Directed by ‘Mr Sunderland’ from the UK, the 30-second commercial depicts a prospective blindfolded Polo driver identifying the car only through touch. Head over to Auto Bild’s website to watch the behind the scenes clip, while the finished full spot can be viewed below.

[Image: Auto Bild]

Here’s a long-forgotten TV commercial for the then-new facelifted Series 2 Polo. Arriving as the first small car range in the UK to fitted with three-way catalytic converters as standard, this clever 50-second TV spot from 1990 features a pristine white GT Coupé parked on a busy street and getting dirtier and dirtier as the seasons and day-to-day life debris pass it by. Soundtracked by ‘Oh What A Beautiful Morning’ (we don’t know singer; the song was covered by so many artists), we remember seeing the ad on TV at the time. As the car gets covered in more and more soot, grime, and weather and traffic-related dirt, the owner drives it off and the pay-off line is revealed: ‘The new Volkswagen Polo. Cars don’t come any cleaner.’ Understated genius.

[Source: m4ttyf via the Club Polo forum.]

This 53-second is undoubtedly a spoof. We don’t know who’s behind it, but it did make us chuckle. How do we know it not to be real? Some of the fonts used towards the end of the spot aren’t Volkswagen corporate style, and would the company really suggest doing acts usually performed in the boudoir in the new Polo’s interior, however plush it might be? The tale of a nerd who never gets the girl, he seizes his chance and uses his Polo to impress his object of desire. Yes, the subtle humour references are Volkswagen style, but there’s still something about the clip which just isn’t right. And the marketing message? ‘The Polo with sports body work. Impertinently good.’ Thanks to Mark for the link.