Love Our Work: David Flanagan on Volkawagen's Uplifting Slice of Nostalgia

David> I’m no rev head and have no affinity with any car brand.

However, I am a sucker for an escapist love story.

Most of my favourite movies are made up of tragic romance tales - ‘Cyrano De Bergerac’ with Gerard Deparduis, ‘Before Sunrise’ with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, mixed with old school Americana, ‘Stand By Me’ with River Phoenix, ‘The Goonies’ and the impeccable Tarantino ode, ‘Once Upon A Time in Hollywood’. 

No surprise then, when I happened upon the delight of the recent VW commercial ‘An American Love Story’ that I fell head over heels.

What is it that makes this work so great?

Well, in my opinion, the craft of blending archive footage with new footage was a win, then the music. My my, the music transcend eras and elevates the emotions to another level.

The two-minute film by creative agency Johannes Leonardo has the ability to sweep me away in a nostalgic view of a version of America I yearn for. A far cry from the antagonistic vibe currently surrounding brand America. But the story somehow bypasses all this noise and centres around the iconic role VW has played for the last 70 odd years. The unmistakable face of the Beetle throughout the halcyon years of the US – from times when the world was only seen in black and white, then the colourburst of the ‘60s, ‘70 and ‘80s all the way through to an optimistic present future facing day.

The romantic in me feels charged after going for the ride and letting the dulcet tones of Neil Diamond stir and imbue defiance and resilience.

Will it make me buy a VW? Maybe.

Does it make me feel warm and fuzzy about VW? Absolutely.

Do I want to see more of this emotionally driven work? You betcha.

We each take inspiration from a variety of places – a bush walk on the weekend can evoke scale and colour in our thinking. Discovering an off-beat Korean cop show can introduce a whole new way of thinking. Similar to looking at work created overseas. By enjoying advertising from other markets gives a sense of how ambitious and audacious thinking can become.

While it’s healthy to keep an eye on work coming from other agencies - it’s vital to nurture the creative pulse from within. I find the concept of “positive gossip” a super useful technique. You know, instead of relaying a criticism about a colleague, you do the exact opposite and spread something “positive”. It has the canny ability of lifting people’s expectations and has a cunning way of making its way back to the individual being “gossiped about”. Instead of them feeling deflated, they receive an uplift.

Honestly – give it a go and you’ll be surprised with the impact.

That’s the funny thing with being creative. To me, creativity requires a good balance of ‘confidence’ and ‘capability’. To champion a new idea requires a decent amount of creative confidence. Without which momentum struggles to build and ideas wither and disappear from view if not constantly cared for. Which brings me back to the VW commercial. Clearly a truck load of talent was invested to bring this to life. A team shared the view of what the potential could be and made the tough calls to make sure THAT track was used above all other alternatives. It’s in the thousands of decisions that are taken throughout this exciting process that make the biggest difference to the outcome. Staying vigilant and aware of these will set the course to success.