By Malay Desai
From:UK, by adam&eveDDB
In a new commercial for its SUV model Tiguan, German automobile company Volkswagendepicts a father doing routine activities with and for his two children. These include watching cartoons with the daughter and letting her have her play area at home despite a space crunch; and waiting for the son at a stadium while a game is on, among other sacrifices. The film subtly shows the car being part of many family activities and toward the end, shows the father packing the daughter’s things in the dashboard before driving away. ‘No compromise needed’, the copy appears.
Why we Like?
Last week, one of the ‘good news’ stories going viral was about the chief of a large financial firm resigning abruptly following a conversation with his 10-year-old daughter. Reportedly, his girl had handed him a note listing 22 milestones of her life he’d missed thanks to his busy schedules, and included things like her first day at school and a PTA meeting.
In our maniacally stressed and depressed urban world, small acts of kindness, love and sacrifice have become more valuable, and those who do it, become exemplars for others to follow or admire. The lead character in this ad is one such ‘hero’ – in the one-minute commercial that was launched in UK on X-Factor, does everything that the ‘perfect father’ rulebook would state:listening, spending time, waiting, adjusting, curbing his passionsfor his son and daughter. Oh, and driving, of course.
Sacrifices, passion, honesty et al are hooks automobile companies need to sell, as RPMs and ground clearance won’t look good in a story. The good automobile ads define their owners clearly then, whether it’s the Beetle’s hipster or BMW’s businessman or Tata Safari’s patriot. The Tiguan’s owner has been the calm, mature man, and he’s been so from the launch day. In this case, he loves his TV, live games, even his job, but doesn't let any of that get in the way of his parenting business, he doesn’t ‘compromise’ anywhere by being careless or self-centred.
For an eight-seater, he’s the man VW has selected rightly. And watch this film twice, and you’d notice how the car’s space, glove compartment and ease of ignition are silent elements in putting up his successful lifestyle.
Lastly, the soundtrack is a standout element by itself – ‘I’d do anything’ playing throughout, despite giving the film a typical Europeansense of ease, hints at this perfect dad’s love for his SUV.
We don’t know about others in the VW’s UK market, but are pretty sure that one Mr Mohamed El-Erian, that millionaire finance guy, will consider buying the Tiguan soon.
To watch the film type in ‘goo.gl/TktAUQ’to your browser
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