A talking newspaper ad launches Volkswagen Vento

German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen launched its campaign for the New Vento with an innovation in the Tuesday September 21, 2010 edition of The Times of India and The Hindu. 

As readers opened the newspaper a light-sensitive chip attached to the page announced the arrival of “a perfectly engineered car” – the Vento.  The ad was created by DDB India, a unit of DDB Mudra, which is one of the four agency networks of the Mudra Group. 

Speaking on this innovation, Lutz Kothe, head of marketing & PR, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India, said “At Volkswagen, innovation is a way of life, it extends beyond our cars to even the way we communicate which reflects in this initiative.” The idea, based on musical greeting cards, came from his 14 year old niece. 

Madhukar Kamath, group CEO & managing director – Mudra Group, said, “The Roadblock in November, The Polo ‘Hole in the paper’ in february and now the ‘talking newspaper’. This easily makes VW a true leader in ‘Innovations’.”

Bobby Pawar, chief creative officer – Mudra Group, said, “The Volkswagen Vento is a car that is built with great care and passion and the innovation gives voice to the feelings of the people who built it, namely the engineers.”

Rajiv Sabnis, president – DDB India, said, “It is one of the most discussed and blogged topics and the most searched subject amongst the online community. So it wasn’t just the ad that did the talking but got its readers talking about it too!”

View the ad and listen to the audio clip below