Times of India? Nope, VW of India. EDIT: Vibrating ad on 11 Sept 2012 (Pg 26)

vivekiny2k · 21st September 2010, 20:06

and all of it ends up in the landfill the next day.

samsag12 · 21st September 2010, 20:23

Great sense of creativity. Kudos to the Germans who spent some money on innovative marketing strategy and the content, it seems, is quality one too. Though Lucknowities didn't enjoyed the audio as there was only a full page ad.

dhuli · 21st September 2010, 20:46

I am not sure the speaker is light sensitive. There is a separate element notice the small zigzag sensor (whitish) below the speaker holes. This is a light sensitive electronic element on the circuit board that acts to switch on or off the audio. These devices are typically cadmium sulphide cells or Photoresitors. Good thinking by the ad creative is to place it on the inside fold. This way the folded paper cuts off light and the device wont give the message. Moment you pick up paper to read you open it, light falls on the resistor, which acts as a switch and the audio is played in a loop. Only way to switch off is to cover the resistor up. See this wikipedia pic for what the photoresistor looks like - File:LDR.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

vivekz · 22nd September 2010, 00:29

Very innovative and out-of-the-box thinking for creating buzz. I guess the major initial challenge for VW is to gain a foot-hold in the 'brand consideration set' of buyers in its segment. IMHO, VW has created the right awareness of the impending launch among its target segment (English National Daily readers is a broad segment within which they fall into). Such efforts makes sure that the buyers in the segment would at least give Vento a fair chance of consideration instead of running directly to the Honda showrooms.

Just compare it with the advertisement (rather the complete lack of it) VW did for the Polo 1.6. They knew that the enthusiasts will come to know of the product anyway. However, the 'aam-junta' are not aware of the 1.6, thus avoiding the clouding of opinions by image of low mileage, 'meant-for-fast-youngsters', etc to be associated with Polo(Remember Palio).

So all in all, I would say it was a focussed approach to promotion and awareness. Having deep pockets helps nevertheless.

skumar · 22nd September 2010, 14:14

Volkswagen spends Rs 6cr on 'talking newspaper': SourcesVolkswagen spends Rs 6cr on 'talking newspaper': Sources - CNBC-TV18 -

u_chill · 22nd September 2010, 14:34

& I presume they will now make dashboards out of the black plastic waste generated? Not complaints about the creative, but seriously an auto manufacturer, similar to oil companies have to show some CSR responsibility.

What is the point of making your vehicles environmentally friendly and ELV compliant, if you are going to generate a significant amount of non biodegradable waste for product promotion?

amoghchaphalkar · 22nd September 2010, 14:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by skumar

Volkswagen spends Rs 6cr on 'talking newspaper': SourcesVolkswagen spends Rs 6cr on 'talking newspaper': Sources - CNBC-TV18 -

Nice !! So if they sell 60-70 Vento's more "because" of the innovative campaign : they have their costs recovered.

Sales reps might ask visitors to the showrooms "Sir, did you decide to pay us a visit after seeing our talking advertisement in the TOI / Hindu ?"

There has to be some mechanism by which VW is tracking the effectiveness of these campaigns. (by effectiveness I mean conversion to sales.)

aby · 22nd September 2010, 15:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by amoghchaphalkar

Nice !! So if they sell 60-70 Vento's more "because" of the innovative campaign : they have their costs recovered.

Sales reps might ask visitors to the showrooms "Sir, did you decide to pay us a visit after seeing our talking advertisement in the TOI / Hindu ?"

There has to be some mechanism by which VW is tracking the effectiveness of these campaigns. (by effectiveness I mean conversion to sales.)

Given the margins the companies operate, they might have to spend 1000-1500 Ventos to break even (At 40k-60k Profits per car).

However I don't think you can measure the success just by the numbers of Vento sold. This ad simply captured attention of almost everyone who read the papers because of the unique way in which it was executed. Given that Brand recall of VW is still fairly limited, this ad simply blew that away. Two more follow up Ads and VW would reach top-tier in terms of recall.

rjalihal · 22nd September 2010, 19:20

Oh yea, i remember that add. I have to share this story with fellow BHPians. I wake up in the morning half asleep, open the door collect the paper and head straight to the bog as i need some reading material (they say it helps!). Anyways, I am sitting all happy on the pot and open the paper to read, and I hear this talking coming from the paper. I freaked out! I thought someone was inside the loo, so i was all confused initially. During this time, i dropped the paper out of shock and the talking stopped. This is when i realized it was from the paper itself! So i gradually turned it to the last page and i saw the VW ad! I found it amusing! It kept me entertained for the next 1 hour (not in the loo, but outside as well). Moreover, my pet cat was amused too! She tore the paper apart and i enjoyed the show. She was jumping on it and taking cover, looking at it as perplexed as i was initially! Before i knew it, I was 2 hours late for work! Dang! Thank you VW for making my Monday Blues go away

recshenoy · 22nd September 2010, 20:42

Quote:

Nice !! So if they sell 60-70 Vento's more "because" of the innovative campaign : they have their costs recovered.

If they had xxx amount of money dedicated to advertisement then they wont be worried much

This thing actually scared so many common people. it so happened in one of my colleagues house

Quote:

Granma : Oh god! The newspaper is talking!
Mom(yelling from the kitchen) : Somebody give her the medicine!

Innovative yes but what about E-junk created by this! may be VW should have had a contest where in if you return this talking piece to them you are eligible for some lucky draw with cool prize. Definitely people would have returned this to VW. It would have got even more advertisement by this and also some money recovered through recycling also

msprabhakar · 22nd September 2010, 20:54

I liked the innovation and ad sense, as I have commented elsewhere in this forum. However, the impact of the ad is so much that I can't help mulling over even 1½ days later.

If the ad is indeed innovative and a "first" in the world, is it really true that other countries could not have thought of the idea earlier? I got a comment from two Japanese who visited me today. They said that it would be "unthinkable" in Japan for the environmental impact it would have. Besides the e-waste associated with 2.5 million devices, the LDR circuit (that makes the audio go on and off when the paper is folded) contains cadmium sulphide, a deadly poison.

Only in India (the holy land of Bhopal) can a company get away with such a deadly promotion. Will VW repeat such an ad in Germany? Will it get regulatory clearance?

Will somebody from VW please comment?

Sunita Narain and Jairam Ramesh -- Where are you?

wildon · 22nd September 2010, 21:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by amoghchaphalkar

did you decide to pay us a visit after seeing our talking advertisement in the TOI / Hindu ?"

In HINDU !!!, Sorry i have the seen the full page ad, but NO Talking advertisent

, although it was there in TOI

mgh · 22nd September 2010, 23:52

most succinct comment I came across,
Das Advertisement

hats off to VW and the two newspapers

ACM · 23rd September 2010, 01:59

Hats off to the marketing guys at VW, with the TO VW series of advts last year and this latest talking advt, they have taken their recall to a very high level from close to zero in a short while. It has covered most of their intial target audience, and has projected them in the right light as "Innovative Giants".

It is almost like saying "Now we are here, we will rule".

The environment aspects are part of all consumerism and it ia always better to not buy and sell new cars, but presently the world does not work that way.

Daewood · 24th September 2010, 11:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by msprabhakar

They said that it would be "unthinkable" in Japan for the environmental impact it would have. Besides the e-waste associated with 2.5 million devices, the LDR circuit (that makes the audio go on and off when the paper is folded) contains cadmium sulphide, a deadly poison.

Only in India (the holy land of Bhopal) can a company get away with such a deadly promotion. Will VW repeat such an ad in Germany? Will it get regulatory clearance?

This needs a seperate thread.

It's surprising that even in Chennai where an e-waste policy is already in place, (formulated 3 months back) the authorities haven't imposed a fine or taken VW to court for this blatant disregard for the environment.

What is even more appaling is the 'Guardian of Tamilnadu - The Hindu',
priding itself as the world's first talking newspaper in a separate news article, instead of declining the VW innovation.

21st September 2010, 20:06	#361
vivekiny2k Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: cincinnati, jabalpur,chennai Posts: 1,264 Thanked: 209 Times View My Garage	and all of it ends up in the landfill the next day.
	() Thanks

21st September 2010, 20:23	#362
samsag12 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: City of Nawaabs Posts: 1,624 Thanked: 242 Times View My Garage	Great sense of creativity. Kudos to the Germans who spent some money on innovative marketing strategy and the content, it seems, is quality one too. Though Lucknowities didn't enjoyed the audio as there was only a full page ad.
	() Thanks

21st September 2010, 20:46	#363
dhuli BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 201 Thanked: 49 Times	I am not sure the speaker is light sensitive. There is a separate element notice the small zigzag sensor (whitish) below the speaker holes. This is a light sensitive electronic element on the circuit board that acts to switch on or off the audio. These devices are typically cadmium sulphide cells or Photoresitors. Good thinking by the ad creative is to place it on the inside fold. This way the folded paper cuts off light and the device wont give the message. Moment you pick up paper to read you open it, light falls on the resistor, which acts as a switch and the audio is played in a loop. Only way to switch off is to cover the resistor up. See this wikipedia pic for what the photoresistor looks like - File:LDR.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
	() Thanks

22nd September 2010, 00:29	#364
vivekz BHPian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 185 Thanked: 159 Times	Very innovative and out-of-the-box thinking for creating buzz. I guess the major initial challenge for VW is to gain a foot-hold in the 'brand consideration set' of buyers in its segment. IMHO, VW has created the right awareness of the impending launch among its target segment (English National Daily readers is a broad segment within which they fall into). Such efforts makes sure that the buyers in the segment would at least give Vento a fair chance of consideration instead of running directly to the Honda showrooms. Just compare it with the advertisement (rather the complete lack of it) VW did for the Polo 1.6. They knew that the enthusiasts will come to know of the product anyway. However, the 'aam-junta' are not aware of the 1.6, thus avoiding the clouding of opinions by image of low mileage, 'meant-for-fast-youngsters', etc to be associated with Polo(Remember Palio). So all in all, I would say it was a focussed approach to promotion and awareness. Having deep pockets helps nevertheless.
	() Thanks

22nd September 2010, 14:14	#365
skumar BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: BANGALORE Posts: 84 Thanked: 43 Times	Volkswagen spends Rs 6cr on 'talking newspaper': SourcesVolkswagen spends Rs 6cr on 'talking newspaper': Sources - CNBC-TV18 -
	() Thanks

22nd September 2010, 14:34	#366
u_chill BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 100 Thanked: 2 Times	& I presume they will now make dashboards out of the black plastic waste generated? Not complaints about the creative, but seriously an auto manufacturer, similar to oil companies have to show some CSR responsibility. What is the point of making your vehicles environmentally friendly and ELV compliant, if you are going to generate a significant amount of non biodegradable waste for product promotion?
	() Thanks

22nd September 2010, 19:20	#369
rjalihal BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 713 Thanked: 100 Times	Oh yea, i remember that add. I have to share this story with fellow BHPians. I wake up in the morning half asleep, open the door collect the paper and head straight to the bog as i need some reading material (they say it helps!). Anyways, I am sitting all happy on the pot and open the paper to read, and I hear this talking coming from the paper. I freaked out! I thought someone was inside the loo, so i was all confused initially. During this time, i dropped the paper out of shock and the talking stopped. This is when i realized it was from the paper itself! So i gradually turned it to the last page and i saw the VW ad! I found it amusing! It kept me entertained for the next 1 hour (not in the loo, but outside as well). Moreover, my pet cat was amused too! She tore the paper apart and i enjoyed the show. She was jumping on it and taking cover, looking at it as perplexed as i was initially! Before i knew it, I was 2 hours late for work! Dang! Thank you VW for making my Monday Blues go away
	() Thanks

22nd September 2010, 20:54	#371
msprabhakar BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 266 Thanked: 88 Times	Innovation OR Exploitation? I liked the innovation and ad sense, as I have commented elsewhere in this forum. However, the impact of the ad is so much that I can't help mulling over even 1½ days later. If the ad is indeed innovative and a "first" in the world, is it really true that other countries could not have thought of the idea earlier? I got a comment from two Japanese who visited me today. They said that it would be "unthinkable" in Japan for the environmental impact it would have. Besides the e-waste associated with 2.5 million devices, the LDR circuit (that makes the audio go on and off when the paper is folded) contains cadmium sulphide, a deadly poison. Only in India (the holy land of Bhopal) can a company get away with such a deadly promotion. Will VW repeat such an ad in Germany? Will it get regulatory clearance? Will somebody from VW please comment? Sunita Narain and Jairam Ramesh -- Where are you?
	() Thanks

22nd September 2010, 23:52	#373
mgh BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 396 Thanked: 40 Times	most succinct comment I came across, Das Advertisement hats off to VW and the two newspapers
	() Thanks

23rd September 2010, 01:59	#374
ACM Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,745 Thanked: 4,361 Times View My Garage	Hats off to the marketing guys at VW, with the TO VW series of advts last year and this latest talking advt, they have taken their recall to a very high level from close to zero in a short while. It has covered most of their intial target audience, and has projected them in the right light as "Innovative Giants". It is almost like saying "Now we are here, we will rule". The environment aspects are part of all consumerism and it ia always better to not buy and sell new cars, but presently the world does not work that way.
	() Thanks