An Ad for a Volkswagen Pickup Was ‘Too Powerful for TV’ - so DDB Sydney Edited It

During the weekend of the Bathurst 1000, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles premiered its ‘Too Powerful For TV’ campaign for the new Amarok V6 Ultimate 580.

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 their partners DDB Sydney, have re-edited and substantially censored versions of the original ad, some of which will begin re-airing from today.

Says national marketing manager Nick Reid: “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.”

Jade Manning, creative partner DDB Sydney, adds: “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.”