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Ever see the VW ads with the old VW Bug speaking in a german accent? It’s none other than Bronson Pinchot, Balki Bartokomus from Perfect Strangers. The first round of these, produced by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, came out last year but have been appearing again lately it seems. There are some new ones too. They feature “Max”, a black 1964 Volkswagen Beetle. Ärgerlich, sehr ärgerlich.
They certainly do not make me want to do the dance of joy while watching them. For example, here’s a commercial where Max actually has the nerve to hassle the Hoff.
Here’s another one, where Balki talks about how cool Napster was. Topical…. NOT.
VW is using Max in all of its print, web, and tv campaigns, so I’ve had ample time to get sick of him. I get the whole iconic thing– using an old VW as a mascot is kinda cool, but the german accent thing kinda just comes across as douchey.
Tags: 1964, balki bartokomous, beetle, bronson pinchot, bug, crispin porter + bogusky, david hasslehoff, hassle the hoff, love bug, max, napster, perfect strangers, shawn fanning, volkswagen, vw
Crispin Porter + Bogusky is one of the more creative ad agencies out there, creating ad campaigns for Burger King, MINI, and now of course, Microsoft. The much hyped ad campaign for Microsoft began with “Shoe Circus”, an amusing ad about nothing featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates shopping in a discount shoe store. They were clearly introducing Gates and Seinfeld as a comedy duo, a sign of things to come.
In the latest installment, entitled “New Family”, Gates and Seinfeld are shown living in a house with an average suburban family (well, except for the kick-ass grandmother). Gates asks Seinfeld why they are there and Jerry Seinfeld responds…
“Why Bill? Because as we discussed, you and I are a little out of it. You’re living in some kind of moon house hovering over Seattle like the mothership; I’ve got so many cars, I get stuck in my own traffic. We need to connect with real people.”
These ads are sure amusing, must like Seinfeld’s show about nothing. But will they sell more PCs? Not without free pizza, gentlemen.
Tags: 00s tv commercials, ads, bill gates, burger king, cabo san lucas, crispin porter + bogusky, free pizza, jerry seinfeld, leather giraffe, mac vs. pc, microsoft, mini, new family, shoe circus, shoe store
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