Volkswagen Sells BIG In Latest Advertising Campaign - Will It Finally Pay Off?

Seventy-eight-year-old Marie Gallagher's hair was wet and in rollers when a couple of casting agents rang her doorbell to interview her for a possible role in a new Volkswagen ad. She wasn't expecting them for another hour, and had even planned to serve them tea and Irish bread that was still in the oven. But now she was scrambling, as she shoved her 2-year-old German Shepherd out the back door and tried to calm herself down.

"I thought I was going to be all dolled up looking like a million dollars," she said. But now all she could do was say to herself, "Settle down, open the door, this is the way I am."

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TheSteve - 5/2/2017 2:03:54 PM

+4 Boost

It'll take nothing short of a miracle to make Volkswagen popular in the US, especially in light of Diselgate. VW has a lengthy history of:
- Pricing their vehicles higher than you'd expect for what you get
- Visits to the repair shop are more frequent than you'd expect
- Repair and maintenance costs are much higher than you'd expect
- The company and dealerships have been treating customers badly for a while

As a result, VW has been a minor player in the US for decades, even though on the world stage, they were the No.1 automaker[1] (measured by units sold) for the 2016 calendar year.

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[1] As at Q1 2017, VW is in 3rd place following Renault and Toyota.

MDarringer - 5/2/2017 9:33:07 PM

-2 Boost

@TheSteve...The article says: "While that spot went for laughs, the new ads -- which coincide with the Atlas's arrival at dealerships -- go for tears." VW has to make people cry so that when they are crying at the expense to keep it running for longer than 50K miles they will realize VW promised to bring them to tears.

trboaccord - 5/2/2017 5:01:52 PM

+2 Boost

none of what you mentioned is even true... Their vehicles have more content than ever and are less expensive than they have been in the past, they are significantly more reliable, the repair costs are no different than other major brands the dealerships will all differ but my store is in the top 10% in the country for CEI and we have customers who have been coming here for years who love us.

TheSteve - 5/2/2017 7:07:23 PM

+2 Boost

trboaccord: You could be right about *your* VW dealership enjoying brisk sales and having a loyal customer base that loves *your* shop, but that is not the experience of Volkswagen, overall, in North America.

bw5011 - 5/3/2017 5:13:23 PM

+1 Boost

Because you have been to *ever* VW dealership in North America. Too funny...

bw5011 - 5/3/2017 5:13:43 PM

+1 Boost

every*