Oct 14, 2009

When an advertisement sells more than cars

by Anonymous

A coworker just sent me a link to this advertisement via Facebook.

I admit, I'm a sucker for this kind of thing. But this one left me scratching my head a bit. I found myself really rooting for Volkswagen here. Will this ad sell cars? I don't know. I prefer Honda myself.

But the ad doesn't seem to be selling cars at all. It is selling an ethos that I can support whether I even intend to buy Volkswagen. It is encouraging us to incentivize goodness (Caterina Fake, Co-Founder of Flickr, has some very interesting ideas about incentivization in this interview.) Give people a reason to do the right thing. After all, most people want to be good. We just don't have the discipline or the time.

High Calling Blogger Sam Van Eman talks about the Sim Gospel in his book On Earth as It Is in Advertising? He says that includes "all messages that simulate the biblical narrative through advertising and popular media for the purpose of selling products and ideas."

In a sense, this Volkswagen ad is simulating the good news--people can do the right thing, they can take the stairs, they can have healthier bodies, and they can fill the world with music while they do it. The simple act of walking up the stairs has beauty and mystery again.

In this video the stairs become a kind of burning bush almost, reminding people that God has filled the world with surprise and joy--and called us to be cocreators with him, hiding pianos on stair cases.

Or is it just a really effective advertisement?