I saw this great video and had to share it. This is a fun and interesting demonstration of Volkswagen looking to engage customers in a socially progressive or civil way. We all recognise we need to take the stairs more often. One can suppose that VW is trying to associate the brand with physical fitness and fun values. Unlike advertising, there is not a story to be told here, but the values are being communicated quite clearly.

We’re all aware that we need to exercise more and this message fits nicely into the VW self-awareness narrative. The message has very little to do with the product. In fact, one could argue that the product characteristics don’t work with physical fitness values very well. So, we can assume that VW are trying to begin a dialogue from an area of  concern for society – not their product. It’s a good starting point and a good act to follow for any brand that is thinking about increasing its civil dimension.

Further, this activity provides a good example of not being preachy or claiming to be an authority on fitness or some other issue. True to the VW brand, it’s communicating in a fun and subtle fashion.

An accompanying posting adds:

We believe that the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better is by making it fun to do. We call it ‘The Fun Theory’. Other experiments have included a waste bin triggered with a sound device to make it sound like the world’s deepest and soon to be released, empty bottle arcade.

It’s nice to see this kind of activity done in such a simple and compelling way. The reactions on blogs have been numerous and positive. I would say that this brand event is similar to the flash mob events put together by T-Mobile (see previous post). Smaller in scale of course, but I imagine rather appreciated by those who participated and quite fun to watch on YouTube.

In conjunction with the Walt Whitman themed ads focusing on nationalist narratives (see previous post), Levis has issued this goodbye to Senator Ted Kennedy. This clip from his most famous speech has been broadcast all over the media so, no doubt is instantly recognisable.

It reminds me of when Volkswagen said goodbye to Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead. I read this ad in Rolling Stone magazine sitting out in Stanley Park in Vancouver (so powerful, I remember where I was). The tie-in with the Grateful Dead and the Volkswagen microbus is seamless. VW even decided to use a model that last saw production during the Ted Kennedy scandal. The ad also did not tie into any campaign look and feel, slogan or anything commercial about the brand, so there is little cause for calls for exploitation.

In short, these are some of the criteria to use when thinking about whether to salute a fallen icon with your brand.

After launching a series of ads taking the mickey out of bankers and their hand in the financial meltdown (see previous post), VW are at it again. This ad follows a fellow on a series of misadventures brought on by the recession. Despite all the challenges, he sings through it with his chin up in true Fred Astaire fashion, joined by some sheep on their way to the slaughterhouse.

Spots like these demonstrate their civil side by relating to the anxieties of us all and make an effort to cheer us up. T-Mobile has also been doing its utmost to cheer up Londoners with a series of flash mob like events that get us dancing and singing (see previous post).

Not every civil or socially-minded brand has to raise potentially sensitive topics for society through their narrative. Many brands, like Orange and Miller Beer can promote universally popular ideas like optimism and friendship in their brand narratives without getting into potentially sensitive or uncomfortable subject areas.

But for those brands that decide to take up the mantle of raising important and sometimes difficult topics for discussion through their brands, humour can be an effective way to create dialogue without the danger of alienating the audience.

Toyota Prius questioning our real reasons for going green. Are we going green because it’s right or because it allows us to be righteous.

Björn Borg highlighting the despotic behaviour of warmongering leaders of all varieties. See previous post

Samsung illuminating what goes on inside the warmonger’s mind. See previous post

Volkswagen discussing how the greed of bankers created immense suffering around the world. See previous post

Absolut Vodka illustrating conflict and violence at political riots. See previous post

Frank uses macabre wit to talk about the dangers of drugs.

But why is humour such an effective means to remove the barbs from the topics that society feels sensitive about? Well, compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, humans are complex, our world view is complex and the societies we create are extremely complex. The social issues we create and try to overcome in the name of progress, are systemic and usually have a long history of their own.

The reason humour works at all is that it creates an unexpected picture of reality that we are surprised by. Sometimes, these pictures are simple, like puns and sometimes they are more complex, like irony. This flexibility to deal with simple and complex ideas to form a surprising and delightful effect makes humour an ideal device for dealing with awkward, complex societal issues.

Also, humour has the ability to reduce a complex problem down to a simple idea and change our expectations with delightful effect. In this way, humour gives us the ability to reflect on an issue without getting engaged with its complexity. By taking a non-serious view on a serious topic, we afford ourselves the opportunity to see new ideas around the issue and take in information differently in order to make newly-informed decisions about the ideas surrounding the problem.

Finally, humour is reflective in purpose and action. It is like a fun-house mirror that distorts our image. But just like these mirrors, humour can emphasise an aspect of what we believe is true or false. It enables us to step out of our ingrained views and suspend reality for a moment. Humour helps us gain perspective by looking at life through a distorted lens and helping us reflect on what is or is not true in our personal reality.

Humour’s reflectivity makes it an ideal tool for addressing tough topics and creating more civil brands. This ability lowers the barrier for many brands to have otherwise impossible conversations with society.

Humour is no stranger to the Volkswagen stable and it is a great device for taking on serious topics for society. While VW are frequent commentators on life’s little ironies and big moments, commenting on societal issues is a rarer occurrence for the brand.

An important part of the Civil Branding effort is being able to raise important issues for society. The financial crisis certainly seems to have overshadowed every other issue on the agenda for the moment. VW provides a little comic relief along with the rational offer of security.

This series of ads fulfils an important role of surfacing the topic of greed and insecurity in an acceptable way. While it ridicules traders for their greed, the ads also convey a kind of sympathy and understanding our interconnected human condition. The ads successfully walk the line between hope and dismay quite deftly and urge us to laugh at our folly together.

The style of the ad certainly rings true for VW’s self-awareness focused narratives, fitting in with other human-focused and life-style issues that VW explores in its communications.