Volkswagen Travels Through Time with AI Campaign That Breaks Records

Volkswagen and AlmapBDDO are pushing the boundaries of AI with the car manufacturer’s campaign, celebrating the brand’s 70th anniversary in Brazil.

The campaign quickly achieved social media virality, becoming a trending topic on Twitter, acquiring 50 million organic views, and ranked #1 on Google Trends.

Leveraging AI in Video Production 

Volkswagen and AlmapBDDO did the impossible by reuniting one of Brazil’s greatest singers Elis Regina, who died in 1982, with her daughter Maria-Rita, a singer with 8 Grammys to her name.

The use of artificial intelligence sees Maria-Rita driving in a 100% electric version of the Volkswagen Kombi, as her mother drives alongside her in the classic Volkswagen Kombi model.

As the singers get their first opportunity at a duet, Volkswagen blends past and present, to create a touching campaign and unique video production.

Volkswagen and AlmapBBDO worked with Flow Effects, a post-production company specializing in special effects, to achieve technical perfection.

"The campaign puts sophisticated technology in the service of an extremely human goal: to touch people’s hearts. We’ve taken a groundbreaking duet out of the realm of imagination and made it absolutely real, for the two minutes the film lasts," said AlmapBBDO CCO Marco Giannelli.

Brand Storytelling With Volkswagen 

Volkswagen also took the opportunity to launch a new edition of the Kombi, featured in the spot.

Ten years after the car company ceased manufacture of the Kombi, the new model is being released in a limited run of 70 units to commemorate the brand’s 70th anniversary.

By creating a broader story that ties into Volkswagen’s generational legacy in Brazil, the result was an advertising campaign that will stand the test of time.

Edited by Nikola Djuric