Volkswagen invites you to discover Walkinshaw Station in latest campaign for the Amarok W-Series via DDB Group Sydney
Imagine a place where wild utes roam, where expert handlers capture them and harness their raw power, turning beasts into thoroughbreds. Well, that place is Walkinshaw Station, where Volkswagen Amaroks are engineered to become the only ute reared for the road.
The Amarok V6 W-Series is a collaboration between Volkswagen and legendary performance tuning house Walkinshaw. The integrated launch, created by DDB Group Sydney, unfolds like a tourism campaign, showing Walkinshaw Station not as a theme park or polished racetrack, but as its own world, the first and only of its kind.
Says Nick Reid, national marketing and product manager at Volkswagen Australia: “With Walkinshaw Station, we knew we’d capture the attention of ute enthusiasts.
“But the new Amarok V6 W-Series ute is designed for the road and drives like a grand tourer. So ute-owners and car drivers alike can imagine what it would feel like to get behind the wheel of a vehicle that performs like a thoroughbred.”
The exclusive utes are converted into W-Series in Clayton, Victoria, with the addition of features including custom 20-inch alloy wheels, Pirelli Scorpion tyres, performance-tuned suspension, and new aggressive styling. The flagship edition started with a presale in February, with Volkswagen selling 48 of the vehicles within six minutes.
Says Ben Welsh, chief creative officer, DDB: “Amarok has a long history of challenging ute category norms in Australia. That started with the Naked Ute and was built upon with the Too Powerful for TV campaign.
“The W-Series is the epitome of this attitude, because while every other ute company focuses on going off road, the Amarok goes against the herd with a ute that loves the road.”
The W-Series launch is an integrated experience. The TVC is supported by an augmented reality digital element, the ute’s features ready to be inspected up close. There’s also a website, walkinshawstation.com, featuring extra content and even a gift shop.
Volkswagen partnered with culture publisher Broadsheet on the merchandise: Amarok-inspired beef jerky, and hats. The premium content series with Broadsheet will go live in June, documenting the artisans’ creative and production process, and the Amarok W-Series’ role in it.
Says Kim Raicevich, group business director at PHD, the media agency behind the campaign: “The partnership with Broadsheet is a great platform to make Walkinshaw station feel more tangible for consumers. It will provide the new Volkswagen Amarok W-Series with the ability to create excitement and a deeper engagement around its launch, and add impact in a highly competitive segment.”
Client: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
Product: Amarok
Title: Walkinshaw Station ‘Reared For The Road’
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles:
National Marketing and Product Manager: Nicholas Reid
Product Marketing Manager: James Thompson
Marketing Communications Manager: Michelle Rowney
Creative Agency: DDB
Chief Creative Officer Australia: Ben Welsh
Chief Creative Officer Sydney: Tara Ford
Chief Strategy Officer: Fran Clayton
Executive Creative Director: Matt Chandler
Creative Director: Tommy Cehak
Creative Director: Tim Woolford
Senior Art Director: Elaine Li
Senior Copywriter: Jared Wicker
Creative: Miguel Gadea
Planning Director: James Davis
Managing Partner: Nick Russo
Senior Business Director: Nicole Drabsch
Business Director: Luke Thistleton
Business Executive: Rasheida Cooper
Head of Integrated Content: Renata Barbosa
Lead Senior Producer: Tania Jeram
Senior Print Producer: John Wood
Creative Partner (DDB Tribal): David Jackson
Group Business Director (DDB Tribal): Kenny McLeod
Project Manager (DDB Tribal): Sebastian Bennett-Leat
Business Manager (DDB Tribal): Alasdair Kay
Senior Business Manager (DDB Track): Harrison Schaap
Social Manager: Mo Komolafe
Head of Design: Ramon Rodriguez
Senior Designer: Paul Jansen
Production Company: Revolver
Director: The Glue Society
Managing Director/Co-Owner: Michael Ritchie
Executive Producer/Partner: Pip Smart
Executive Producer: Jasmin Helliar
Producer: Cathy Rechichi
Director of Photography: Danny Rulhmann
2nd Unit DOP: Alex Dufficy
Drone: Heliguy
Production Designer: Sam Hobbs
Wardrobe: Sandy Burcul
Casting: Toni Higginbotham Casting
Stills Photographer: Milos Mlynarik
Post Production: The Glue Society Studios
Editor: The Glue Society
Post Producer: Scott Stirling
Grade: Andy Clarkson
Online: Viv Baker
Sound Engineer: Myles Lowe, Song Zu
Music: Franklin Rd, Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper
Media Agency: PHD Sydney
Media Planning Director: Amie Wills
Media Investment Manager: Christine Chen
Media Head of Strategy: Mitch Long
Media Business Director: Dixie Garcia
31 Comments
Most underrated show
Big, big idea. Australian advertising is making a comeback.
Wants their tone back.
Very Solid.
Good idea. Well directed. Feels like a big world.
Well done DDB & Glue. Strong!
This reeeeeeal good
oh dear….
https://vimeo.com/128532468
Congrats to DDB and partners on another fantastic Amarok campaign. Looks like you had a lot of fun with this one.
Shameless Hilux ripoff. Not too late to take this down guys.
How is this the same idea?
Lotta love from the Saatchis crew clinging to some flimsy Hilux comparisons. It’s great to see work as good as this.
I think you mean rip-off
Sorry not good at all.
Always a first idea for a Ute being treated like a horse or cattle or herd of something. Usually killed in first reviews in other agencies, but clearly not at DDB. That’s ok though just makes for a poor ad.
May have been ok in 2004.
Unfortunately I don’t think the general public will care. As derivative as this work is it’ll still stand out against the sea of mediocrity that is currently out there purely by the fact that it at least has some semblance of an idea. Nicely shot too I might add.
Who else does ute stuff like Volkswagen? Hilux used to blow them out of the water, but what happened?
I LIKE IT! Just missing one crucial scene..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNStbzxuAQ4
Love the craft and making it feel like a real place. Plus the gift shop pieces are so well designed. Lacking a bit on the fun though.
Well done Timmy
Nice one Tim and Tom, and crew.
Well done all involved – Stand out!
wasn’t keen on it.
Lot of work gone in clearly so congrats on that, but it doesn’t entertain me in any way, the v/o was pants and it’s too American sounding.
Seems to fall into a crack between a pisstake and a serious piece of film. Its neither. Missed opportunity for sure.
I thought the previous campaign where the guy gets bogged, but pretends he’s ok was better, and that was just a bog standard product ad.
This feels incredibly contrived.
Naked Ute was by far the best idea Amarok has ever made and none of this work will ever come close.
Like this a lot. Some lovely craft. Well done to all.
I like my cowboys dirty..not clean
Bulk good. Not sure on the VO, but far out it’s a big old ad with an idea. I’d have it in my book
The expectation created by the blurb is not met by the commercial. The premium performance attribute of the Walkinshaw variant is just not demonstrated. Nice idea. Opportunity missed.
Wow, couldnt think of a new idea…I bet the creative hours went through the roof finding ways to try and make it seem original.
It’s a shame this work doesn’t do what the previous campaigns did so well, be true to the Aussie ute. The ute feels secondary to what feels like an idea built around an American concept. Sadly, the new news of the addition of Walkinshaw and it’s great performance history is also lost.
You’re totally right. I was wondering what was bothering me about this so much – it’s the ranch. It’s not an Aussie cattle station, it’s a ranch. The entire tone of this ad is undermined by how American it is.
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This is definitely an entertaining joke ! It’s sad to see that Australia is still a dumping ground for the world’s obsolete and unsellable garbage that is sold here for unbelievable TOP DOLLAR ! At 80k,- I’d rather import a an F150 RAPTOR, or a 450, or for less,- a 10 year old Dodge SRT HEMI RAM, or an LS6 GMC C10 or a Chev Silverado ! All the above are REAL PERFORMANCE powerhouses ON or OFF ROAD ! P.S. the Ford Ranger and the Chev Colorado are considered as not a serious loading, towing or work pickup truck in the US ( you call them ‘utes’ ) but are nore of a lady’s truck ( not being sexist,- but more females drive colorados and rangers than males ). The Colorado was discontinued in the US due to lack of sales and Holden adopted it.
This VW Amarok is not even worth 18K . It’s an ugly joke of a toy,- where the above marketing team are trying to pass it off as something special ( ‘ a pig in lipstick ‘, or ‘ POLISHING A TURD ‘,- just like Holden’s HSV ).
Walkinshaw or Holden’s HSV Dept. weren’t and aren’t Carol Shelby, Don Yenko or the Hennesy Performance divisions. I wonder how many locals are going to be dumb enough to get gouged for 80K for this GLORIFIED little pile of junk,- VW Amarok . 😂😂