THE CHALLENGE

By 1993, Volkswagen of America was in dismal shape. Sales had dropped below 50,000 units. Leadership was seriously considering pulling out of North America. 

A model refresh stabilized Jetta and Golf in ‘94.  The New Beetle got people buzzing in ‘98. By 1999, the totally redesigned Jetta, Golf, and Cabrio needed to seal the comeback. 

My partner and I were tapped to create the national magazine campaign. 

I asked our CD for the brief. He just shrugged: "It's a Jetta."  

Okay then. No pressure. 

THE SOLUTION

The insight was hiding in the specs: 40 comfort and safety features now came standard. Each ad highlighted one of them in the headline, anchored by the full list as the body copy.    

The photography introduced a new visual language to car advertising. No winding mountain roads at golden hour. Instead, we opted for something like street photography, captured in natural light. The car wasn’t the hero. It was a character in the scene, part of a human story.  

The campaign stretched to nine separate executions. Award show judges approved.