In the 1950's and 1960's Volkswagen introduced a series of advertisements that would later become one of the most profound advertisements of it’s time. The advertisements would also play a role in the history of advertisement. The Volkswagen Lemon ad’s provided a minimalistic approach with black and white photograph of the Volkswagen beetle and the word lemon. Before this, many car advertisements used very busy colored illustrations, with an added slogan and much information on the function of the car.
The simplistic approach caused a sensation, not only because it wasn't a fussy ad, but it also had political background. The creators of the advertisements were Jewish and as many know Volkswagen is a German car, with the beetle being designed in Nazi Germany. Now we know why this could have caused an uproar seeing that World War II hadn't past but 15 years prior.
At the time the beetle was a very different type of car. It was compact, much smaller than what was being sold on the market, at the time. This advertisement even made a cameo in Mad Men, a period piece about an advertisement firm. In the moment where the ad is feature the men are discussing their approval and disapproval of the ad, but ultimately it is admitted that either way it has caused a discussion. Isn't it the idea of creating a discussion or a buzz that makes good advertisement?
We took a look at this ad campaign for an advertising course I am currently in. We discussed how differently of a time it was. Today we go beyond print for advertisement. Advertisements today are everywhere, from stagnant buildings to moving cars, and of course it’s all over the web. There are many ways to go about design, but like Volkswagen, in the 1950's and 60's, one must understand what is happening around them in order to be innovative and different. Many can follow the crowd and movement of the wave, but it takes guts to swim against the tide.
