Volkswagen just announced that it will be celebrating 75 years of doing business in the U.S. with a new Super Bowl ad.
The announcement came with the release of a 15-second teaser showcasing the historical and cultural landscape of the time when the first two Beetles rolled off a ship in January 1949.
“The Beetle arrived in America at a time when bigger meant better. People laughed at its size and ridiculous shape. They could barely sell them.”
The Beetle was a cultural phenomenon in the 1960s and 1970s, but its production has been discontinued in 2019.
Volkswagen has since expanded its lineup to include a variety of cars and SUVs, such as the Jetta, Passat and Tiguan.
In recent years, the German carmaker has made a big push into electric vehicles.
The ID. Buzz, an electric version of the iconic Beetle bus, is set to be released in 2024. Volkswagen is also working on developing self-driving cars.
Volkswagen hasn't released more details about its new Super Bowl ad, but it is known that creative agency Johannes Leonardo will be at the helm of the brand’s yearlong campaign to celebrate its 75th anniversary in the U.S.
This marks the first time in nearly a decade that Volkswagen will advertise in the Big Game and comes 13 years after the iconic release of its most popular commercial, “The Force.”
Time magazine dubbed Volkswagen’s “The Force,” crafted by ad agency Deutsch, as “the ad that changed Super Bowl commercials forever.”
The full 60-second spot was released on YouTube four days before the actual 2011 Super Bowl, an unprecedented move that had never been done at the time.
The video garnered over 17 million views before the Big Game started and accumulated over 61 million views before the video was made private.
It's still ranked as one of the most viewed and shared Super Bowl ads of all time.
