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Volkswagen revs up tablet investments via interactive iPad ad

Volkswagen has unveiled a new tablet advertising campaign that includes video, location and animation to promote the automaker?s TDI Clean Diesel technology.

The car brand?s ads are running within the Motor Trend and Automobile Magazine iMag editions and primarily promotes the mid-size Passat vehicles. Volkswagen worked with Deutsch LA, MindOverEye and MediaCom on the ad campaign.

?We looked at an iPad ad because it would be a great way to target a slightly younger audience who are tech-savvy,? said Scott Clark, vice president and creative director at Deutsch LA, Los Angeles.

?They?re open to new technology and can influence their friends, so this was a great opportunity to get into the nitty gritty details of TDI Clean Diesel,? he said.

Mobile test drive
The ads leverage geo-location to plot out a virtual route that is 795 miles long, which is equivalent to the distance that a Volkswagen Passat TDI can drive on with one tank of fuel.

As consumers virtually drive, information bubbles pop up with information that users may be interested in learning about during a road trip.

For example, the ad shows the number of tourist traps that drivers avoided during the drive, and the number of cities driven through.

Branded information and videos of Volkswagen cars also appear throughout the ad with copy that reads, ?Volkswagen has the most models over 40 MPG.?

When consumers reach the end of the virtual drive, creative shows consumers how far they traveled and they can view their destination via Google Street View.

Users can then restart another trip that automatically updates if a consumer is connected via Wi-Fi. For consumers without Wi-Fi, there are five pre-programmed road trips.

There is also a call-to-action that drives consumers to learn more about the TDI Clean Diesel vehicles.

In addition to the Passat, the ad also promotes Volkswagen?s Jetta and SportWagen lines, which can both run up to 609 miles on one tank of gas.

Past initiatives
Volkswagen has been active in both geo-location and tablets in the past as well.

Earlier this year, the car brand partnered with Google to develop an Android app that that syncs with a car and social media to let users track their travel experiences (see story).

Volkswagen also worked with AKQA in 2012 to develop an iPad app to promote its new 2012 Golf R vehicle (see story).

The combination of tablets and location present a big opportunity for brands to develop larger pieces of creative while also tapping into some of the native features of mobile.

?Mobile creative is definitely becoming more interactive and is a great way to get consumers engaged,? Mr. Clark said.

?Often times, users can be more engaged in their mobile and tablet devices versus their desktop, where they have more distractions,? he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York