Dear VW Polo,
Thank you for the reminder that brilliant branding (the "occupying a space in the human mind" version, not the - and I can't believe some professionals in our industry are still confused by this - "brand as a logo / visual asset" version), brilliantly communicated via sublime (and much copied since) storytelling, can and does live loooooooong in the memory.
Just to be transparent with you, we've just applied for our eldest daughter's provisional driving licence.
Impossible. Can't be. She was a tiny helpless baby 5 minutes ago.
[Said every parent ever].
And yet it's true.
What's also true - shall we call them human truths? - is that most parents (in this case a Dad) want to protect their kids (in this case a daughter), that they have protected them in past, that they are protecting them in the present, and that they want to continue protecting them forever.
But - and here's the paradox and tension that defines a powerful human truths statement - they also know that, as a good parent, they must encourage their progeny to go out into the world on their own, to live in a world in which the parent cannot and must not be the protector any more, in which their role for the past 17-18 years is effectively and inevitably made redundant, and in which their self-perception (their purpose?) must undergo a significant update.
Oooof.
Quite a lot of psychology going on there with all that.
Protective instincts (System One); Self-perception (System Two); Love & Pride; Loss & Grief; Hope & Optimism
And all happening over time as contexts, motivations, behaviours and cultures morph and merge (aka Life).
And all happening in your 90 second ad.
What's also true is that when the time comes for our little darling to get behind the wheel, it's going to be of a VW Polo.
Because of the space in my mind that the VW Polo brand owns thanks to this ad (and yes, other marketing activities and real life product experience and VW' reputation for build-quality and, and, and...
I don't actually know when you made this ad (mid to late 2000s?), but it was a while ago for sure.
And I've watched it 100+ times.
And it still makes me cry, in a good way, EVERY time.
And it still makes me want to buy a VW Polo for our daughter.
Thanks again VW Polo.
Ned