Volkswagen launches substantially more censored Amarok V6 TVC via DDB Sydney
During the weekend of the Bathurst 1000, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles premiered its ‘Too Powerful For TV’ campaign for the new Amarok V6 Ultimate 580 via DDB Sydney
Many will be aware that, despite the best efforts of agency and client, the Amarok was still deemed to be too powerful for TV.
The ruling garnered international attention, and from Norway to the United States, debate waged on whether advertising standards in Australia were farcical or fair.
However, as a responsible advertiser, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles took the ruling in their stride and with the help of DDB Sydney, have re-edited and substantially censored versions of the original ad, some of which will begin re-airing from today.
Says Nick Reid, national marketing manager: “We always knew we would be up against it trying to demonstrate the power of this ute. While we were confident in our original solution, we understand that with great power comes great responsibility, and we sincerely hope this further censored version of our commercial addresses any and all concerns. Should the Amarok prove to still be too powerful for TV however, we’re committed to upholding any rulings by the Ad Standards board and will endeavour to further pacify its capabilities on screen.”
Says Jade Manning, creative partner, DDB Sydney: “We’re really proud of the impact the ‘Too Powerful for TV’ campaign has had so far, and we’re confident that this further censorship of the Amarok’s ability will still give Australians a sense of the power of this class-leading ute.”
Agency: DDB Sydney
Chief Creative Officer: Ben Welsh
Executive Creative Director: Tara Ford
Creative Partner: Jade Manning
Creative Partner: Vincent Osmond
Senior Creative: Tim Woolford
Senior Creative: Tommy Cehak
Managing Partner: Nick Russo
Senior Business Director: Astrid Noble
Business Manager: Luke Thistleton
Digital Business Manager: Christelle Quillien
Planning Partner: Graham Sweet
Head of Integrated Content: Sevda Cemo
Lead Senior Producer: Tania Jeram
Senior Digital Art Director: Berengere Sottas
Senior Designer: Paul Jansen
Client: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
National Marketing Manager: Nick Reid
Product Marketing Manager: James Thompson
Retail and Digital Communications Manager: Nathan Johnson
Production Company: Goodoil Films
Director: Adam Stevens
Executive Producer: Sam Long
Producer: Catherine Warner
DOP: Daniel Ardilley
Editor: Mark Burnett from The Editors, Sydney
Assistant Editor: Grace Eyre from The Editors, Sydney
Grade: Ben Eagleton from BE
Online/VFX: Nigel Mortimer, Stefan Coory
Post Production: Blockhead VFX, Sydney
Sound Engineer: Anthony Aston, Rumble Studios
Music: Johnny Green, Rumble Studios
Media agency: PHD Sydney
6 Comments
Sorry. This is shite.
Like, really shite.
DDB should be applauded for showing some personality in their response to this. The campaign keeps getting better.
I still don’t understand… Why is a Baz Luhrmann guy directing an action commercial. Wtf is the idea here?
Not welcome here
I’m a plumber and not as creative as you lot so this took a bit of work.
The original ad was about how they wanted to demonstrate the awesome power but they knew the advertising standards people wouldn’t allow it to be demonstrated because it was in contravention of advertising standards.
I wasn’t aware of the advertising standards before this, so I looked it up.
The original ad got banned as expected.
So now this new ad plays to the fact that the ute that WAS portrayed as too powerful for TV, was in fact too powerful for TV. As a result they made an ad about an ad about an ad .
Very clever. I see why admen love it.
Hopefully those admen who are familiar with the back story AND who watch this ad at the exact moment they need a new car then decide they could use a powerful ute instead. Tradies probably won’t get much out of this, apart from some guy with the hair.
Might as well make an ad of this myself – if anyone needs their heads removed from their poo chutes let me know.
Well done, DDB. Anyone who’s ever had to deal with all the constraints of what you can or can’t show when trying to sell vehicles ought to appreciate this. Nicely written and well executed.