No matter which brand of automobile you drive, you will not be impervious to the Great Volkswagen Art Heist, a new creative campaign from the German vehicle geniuses.
Agency Red Urban produced the idea to take tons of photos of long exposure Jetta tail lights and hang them in random locations around Canada as mini art galleries. The framed photos hang in sets of three and are the coolest in car stills; each one is a different design and is hand numbered for authenticity. The twist is that passersby are actually encouraged to swipe the artwork and then share the scene that features your newly acquired prints via Facebook.
Calling all car lovers and kleptomaniacs, the Great Volkswagen Art Heist is a social experiment that promotes the release of the 2012 Jetta GLI.
Complimentary Car Captures
The Great Volkswagen Art Heist Places Framed Photos up for Grabs
Trend Themes
1. Interactive Advertising - The Volkswagen Art Heist campaign demonstrates the impact of interactive advertising by getting people to engage with the brand in a unique way.
2. Guerrilla Marketing - The use of unexpected locations for art galleries and encouraging passersby to 'steal' the artwork is a brilliant example of guerrilla marketing.
3. User-generated Content - By encouraging people to share their 'stolen' artwork on Facebook, Volkswagen is taking advantage of the power of user-generated content to increase brand awareness and engagement.
Industry Implications
1. Automotive - Creative campaigns like the Volkswagen Art Heist demonstrate the potential for the automotive industry to use unique marketing tactics to promote their products.
2. Art - The use of long exposure car tail light photos as framed art highlights the potential for collaboration between the automotive and art industries.
3. Social Media - By encouraging people to share their 'stolen' artwork on Facebook, Volkswagen is leveraging the power of social media to increase brand reach and engagement.