Whilst trawling YouTube for a trailer of the bizarre dystopian flick ‘Logan’s Run’ (I have a weird penchant/ obsession for these kind of films) I was played a Trueview ad for Volkswagen’s new campaign. The chaps who VW employ normally nail their ads and this was no exception, especially as the music of Underworld was being touted in the first five seconds and that for me is as appealing as it gets.
The ad was beautifully directed as you’d expect; a guy has the road to himself and decides like the tech embracer he’s pertained to be to ‘play the road’. He plugs the app in with ease, attaches it to his dashboard and as he changes gear, accelerates and brakes it’s all seamlessly accompanied by Underworld to enhance his driving experience. The car essentially becomes an instrument (as if being in the new GTi wasn’t enough – tsk, tsk). It all seems very innovative but at the same time rather erroneous.
This is my car-cautious side extolling virtue here but I remember being hit by a car when I was twelve and unsurprisingly it bloody hurt. Even though this is not being released to the public on account of safety reasons, in a time when cycling fatalities are becoming terrifyingly prevalent I’m not sold on the premise that VW should be encouraging the gamification of driving. Listening to Underworld is pleasurably passive; playing with the band by using your car – you get where I’m going with this.
As a driver you have so much information to contend with at any one time that shoving an interactive game into the mix too just seems off the mark or perhaps I’m just not that good a driver.
Great creative, an interesting concept and yes, it’s not being released to the public but when it comes to listening to music in your car this feels like a case of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.