ABBEY ROAD

Bronze eurobest Award

Case Film

Presentation Image

TitleABBEY ROAD
BrandVOLKSWAGEN
Product/ServiceAUTOMOTIVE
Category B02. Brand Collateral
Entrant NORD DDB Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation NORD DDB Stockholm, SWEDEN
Media Placement PHD Stockholm, SWEDEN
PR NORD DDB Stockholm, SWEDEN
Additional Company VOLKSWAGEN Södertälje, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Anna-Emilja Salonen NORD DDB Stockholm Art Director
Simon Higby NORD DDB Stockholm CD
Andreas Dahlqvist NORD DDB Stockholm CCO
Maja Björklén NORD DDB Stockholm Client Director
Linda Lonaeus NORD DDB Stockholm Client Manager
Jonas Eriksson NORD DDB Stockholm Social Media & Content Manager
Susanne Johansson NORD DDB Stockholm PR Director
Per Sundin NORD DDB Stockholm Studio Copy
Mikael Norberg NORD DDB Stockholm Graphic Designer
Anna Lisspers NORD DDB Stockholm Print Production Manager
Jeanette Asteborg Volkswagen Sweden Marketing Director
Carl Sundstedt Volkswagen Sweden Commercial Manager
Olof Ringmar Mandarin Retouch & Photo

Background

In 1969, a Volkswagen Beetle was wrongly parked on Abbey Road. Sadly, the parking mishap ended up on one of the world’s most iconic album covers. Back then, Volkswagen did not have Park Assist technology. But today they do, which is why they righted old wrongs and reparked the car, just to show how far Volkswagen technology has come in 50 years. The objective was to engage pop culture fans globally, while also showcasing Volkswagen technology that improves the driving experience. The brief was to promote Volkswagen's Park Assist technology. The budget included the printing of a batch of limited edition vinyl covers. Volkswagen also ran print and DOOH ads to promote the release.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

Volkswagen continuously innovates to make the driving experience better and safer for drivers and pedestrians. But getting people to engage in new, technological features is no easy task. Which is why Volkswagen corrected the world’s most iconic parking fail to highlight Park Assist – a technology they did not have 50 years ago, when the 5th Beatle ended up on the sidewalk of Abbey Road. The activation quickly become a part of Beatlemania, as fans of two pop cultural icons – The Beatles and the Beetle – talked about Park Assist around the world.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

The release consisted of a new, limited edition vinyl cover. Volkswagen recreated the scene on Abbey Road in 1969, on the day the iconic album cover was shot. But with one improvement – a correctly parked Beetle, shown fifty years later. The image also includes a couple of easter eggs for diehard fans to find. All material, style and design choices were dictated by creating a vinyl cover that is true to the original, so that people could easily replace the cover with a badly parked Beetle with the new, correctly parked version.

List the results (20% of vote)

· 425 000 000 unique media impressions · Tens of thousands of visits to the campaign site · The limited edition vinyl cover sold out in a couple of hours · Now selling on eBay for +2500% · 50 000 SEK donated to children’s rights organisation Bris · Exhibited at one of the world’s oldest and largest Beatles museums · Already a part of a lecture on The Beatles at the Culture and Arts School in France