Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has recreated a memorable moment from its iconic “VW You and Me” television advert from 1988.
Last month more than 1,500 employees gathered at the company’s Kariega car factory near Gqeberha to form a human version of the Volkswagen logo for an advert VWGA is refreshing for the 21st century.
The original advert, which featured nearly 3,000 Volkswagen employees of different races and ages, was a snapshot of what South Africa could look like six years ahead of the country becoming a democracy in 1994. The advert won a Loerie award and was ranked South Africa’s favourite commercial in 1988.
Partnering again with Ogilvy (then Rightford, Searle-Tripp and Makin), a long-standing creative partner to VWGA who originally brought the advert to life in 1988, the company decided to create a new version of the advert as part of its 75th anniversary in South Africa this year.
To recreate the advert, a film crew spent three days at Plant Kariega capturing employees in their work environment. The people logo, which involved employees gathering along the existing Volkswagen spekboom logo (planted by employees on Earth Day in 2021), included almost half of the VWGA workforce.
The advert also features several employees in individual shots or in smaller groups.
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