Volkswagen of America ads, 1960–68
“Lemon.”
One of the most iconic and popular ad campaigns of all time – the subject of a new book, Think Small: The Story of the World’s Greatest Ad.
From a 1968 interview with designer Helmut Krone:
Krone: […] The only thing different about [the Volkswagen ad layout] was its application to cars—and that’s different enough. I took traditional layout A, which had always existed: 2/3 picture, 1/3 copy, three blocks with a headline in between. But I changed the picture. The picture was naked-looking, not full and lush. The other small change was the copy, which was sans serif rather than serif.
Interviewer: And nobody’d ever done that before?
Krone: Not with that layout, no. It was an editorial look, but with sans serif type.
Interviewer: The look of the copy was very different. The use of “widows” which we spoke of once before.
Krone: I actually cut those “widows” into the first Volkswagen ads with a razor blade and asked Julian Koenig to write that way. I deliberately kept the blocks from being solid, and when I felt that a sentence could be cut in half I suggested it just to make another paragraph.
“Going, going…”
“£196.”
“It’s ugly, but it gets you there.”
“Think small.”
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“Repair ’em? I’ve got enough parts to build ’em!”
“Impossible.” Car and Driver, Aug 1961
“The 1962½ Volkswagen.” Car And Driver, Mar 1962
“Do you think the Volkswagen is homely?” Sports Car Illustrated, Nov 1960
“Never.” Car and Driver, Nov 1961
“Volkswagen overdoes it again: 4 coats of paint”, 1961
“Cheap new. Expensive used.”, 1962
“What if you only need part of a Volkswagen?”, 1962
“That’s how many times we inspect a Volkswagen”, 1963
“Why does the Volkswagen have 4 forward speeds?” Car and Driver, Mar 1963
“Think it over, New York, Chicago, San Francisco”, 1963
“Will we ever kill the bug?”, 1965
“No. It will not replace the bug.” Ad for the Volkswagen Fastback Sedan, 1965
“Has the Volkswagen fad died out?” Readers Digest, Mar 1966
“Ugly is only skin-deep”, 1966
“The most economical thing about a VW is how long it’s economical.”, 1966
“We made the car go faster. And the engine go slower.”, 1966
“They laughed”, 1966
“Our beauty. Will it spoil the Volkswagen image?” Ad for the Volkswagen Fastback Sedan, 1967
“Volkswagen introduces the automatic stick shift”, 1968
“We’ll never make it big.” postcard
“It’ll grow on you.” postcard
4 Comments on “Volkswagen of America ads, 1960–68”
Dominik Imseng has written a book that includes an in-depth history of the “Think Small” ad, including many interviews.
Dustin Hoffman starred in a VW TV spot during this era:
Another book about this campaign, recommended by reader Joe Clark, is Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?.
Do you have info about the man in the Impossible ad? He resembles my father-in-law Rudy Bartling. Rudy worked for Volkswagen Canada and in California in the late 1950s to 1960s before beginning his racing career. He was inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011. A copy of the Impossible ad was with his memorabilia when he passed away.
If you have any info I’d appreciate it.
Thank you.