It is tough, it is structurally and
technologically one of the best, its engineering is second to none, it
has now been proven on the roughest terrain by the toughest of critics
and it was naked. No one knew what badge it bore.
Over the past
week Australians have been asked to 'Guess the Naked Ute' via a teaser
campaign via DDB Sydney, on television, social and online, with more
than 100,000 ute lovers voting in an online poll.
VIEW THE TEASER
VIEW THE CONTENT TEASER
VIEW THE TIMELAPSE TEASER
VIEW THE SPOT
VIEW THE CONTENT REVEAL
The big reveal of the campaign came yesterday when Volkswagen Commercial
Vehicles unveiled the identity of the highly talked about Naked Ute -
the Volkswagen Amarok.
Says Toby Talbot, chief creative officer,
DDB Group Sydney: "Australians long held the perception the Amarok was a
city ute. We felt the most authentic way to challenge this perception
was by stripping it bare and allowing pure performance to do the
talking.
"We took the Amarok and removed the badges, removed the
luxuries and comfort previously synonymous with the brand and put it to
the tough test in very rough conditions by staunch critics. You can't
argue with that."
DDB deputy ECD Cam Hoelter said the agency
jumped at the chance to show that a ute engineered in Germany had all
that it takes to take on Australia's tough conditions.
Says
Hoelter: "Blind taste tests have always been used to challenge
preconceptions of products in advertising. But never when it comes to
cars. So we asked what if people couldn't judge the Amarok by it's
cover, but by performance alone would they reconsider what they thought
of it?"
The Naked Ute is a fully integrated, through the line
campaign and was launched via TVC, print and digital as well as a highly
successful content campaign delivered primarily through Facebook.
The
campaign started with a week long teaser period with a stripped back
'naked ute' featuring in a 15" TVC that called on the public to 'Guess
the Naked Ute'. This was supported by a promoted social campaign that
had separate content whereby viewers were introduced to four Aussie ute
lovers who put the "Naked Ute' through its grueling paces. New content
was rolled out each day driving traffic to
thenakedute.com to vote or view more.
Says
Ralph Beckmann, marketing manager, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: "We
wanted to really challenge some of the misconceptions around Amarok and
develop a disruptive campaign to bring this to life.
"We
believed many couldn't see beyond the Volkswagen badge and the good
looking exterior. So we decided to take it away and the response has
been phenomenal. In our first week alone, the engagement far exceeded
our expectations and it also showed us that a lot of people know their
Amaroks down to bolts, suspension, stance and even the shape of the rear
window."
The campaign was produced in partnership with The Glue
Society/Will O'Rourke with Matt Devine directing the TVCs and Jonathan
Kneebone taking on the content challenge.
The campaign moved
into its full integrated reveal phase on Sunday (January 31) with a
30sec TVC and new social content supported by online and print.
MARKETING MANAGER: Ralph Beckman
PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER: Nick Reid
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS DIGITAL SPECIALIST: Emma Johnson
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER:Toby Talbot
DEPUTY EXEC CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Cam Hoelter
SENIOR ART DIRECTOR: Jade Manning
SENIOR WRITER: Vincent Osmond
DESIGNER:Domenic Bartolo
MANAGING PARTNER: Amanda Wheeler
BUSINESS DIRECTOR: John Larkin
BUSINESS DIRECTOR: Astrid Noble
BUSINESS MANAGER: Chelsea Riddington
STRATEGIST: Fran Clayton
HEAD OF INTEGRATED CONTENT: Sevda Cemo
SENIOR PRODUCER: Claire Seffrin
DIGITAL SNR BUSINESS DIR: Parker Mason
CONTENT CREATOR: Robert Crispe
SOCIAL CONTENT CREATOR: Liana Rossi
CREATIVE TEC DIRECTOR: Shaun O'Connor
EXECUTIVE DIGITAL PRODUCER: Sora Nobari
SNR DIGITAL PRODUCER: Jdy Lau
DIGITAL PRODUCER:Will Kerr
FRONT END DEVELOPER:Sarah Hawes
SENIOR PRINT PRODUCER: John Wood
SOCIAL COMMS MGR: Salil Kumar
PRODUCTION PARTNERS:
PRODUCTION HOUSE: Will O'Rourke
DIRECTOR TVC: The Glue Society's - Matt Devine
DIRECTOR CONTENT: The Glue Society's - Jonathan Kneebone
MANAGING DIRECTOR/ EP : Michael Ritchie
EP /HEAD OF PROJECTS: Josh Mullens
PRODUCER: Serena Paull
DOP: Ryley Brown
POST PRODUCTION:
TV/CONTENT EDITOR: Luke Crethar
COLOURIST: Yoomin Lee
POST PRODUCTION CONTENT: The Glue Society
POST PRODUCER: Scott Stirling
TV/VFX POST PROD: Heckler Films
EP POST/VFX PRODUCER: Will Alexander
POST PRODUCTION VFX/TV: Bonnie Law
PHOTOGRAPHY/SOUND:
SOUND COMPANY: Sound Reservoir
CREATIVE/SOUND ENGINEER: Paul Taylor
PHOTOGRAPHY: Janyon Boshoff
LIBRARY MUSIC: AMCOS
LIBRARY MUSIC: AUDIONET