EOC Week 1: VW Lemon

Volkswagen Lemon Ad

In 1960, Doyle Dane Bernbach changed advertising forever when he created the Volkswagen “Lemon” Ad. This Ad was a simple black and white photo of the Volkswagen beetle with the word lemon printed in bold text. The bold print of the word lemon on this Ad is probably one of the most interesting parts if not the most interesting part. Why would Volkswagen call their own car a lemon? This is what pulls your attention in and makes you want to read more. Below the picture there is an explanation on why Volkswagen did this. The inspector rejected this car because blemishes on the chrome strip on the glove box. It also went on to explain how grueling the inspection process is for a Volkswagen and how 1 out of 50 cars do not pass. This statement says how reliable their cars really are. The final catch of the Ad is there ending quote, “We pluck the lemons; you get the plums.” This did an excellent job of summing up the main meaning of this Ad and what Volkswagen had to say about the reliability of their cars.

This Ad opened up a whole new world in advertising and started the era of creativity. Although a simple Ad, it caught the attention of millions.