Brooke Shields and the Routan boom

I’ve been reading recent criticism of VW’s Routan marketing campaign and its supposed contribution to VW’s low level of minivan sales. While I'm sure this drop in sales is due largely to the current recession, I still feel the need to defend VW and their agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

I have to admit, ads that employ celebrities are not terribly inspiring; in my opinion, it’s generally an indication that theoretically innovative advertising execs can’t offer anything really innovative. But, I really like VW’s Routan television ads with Brooke Shields (especially given her recent media attention due to “disagreements” with Tom Cruise about post-partum depression).

In VW’s TV ads, Brooke Shields urges viewers to “have a baby for love, not for German engineering.” Hilarious! It seems that Volkswagen wanted both to deviate from the traditional “soccer mom mini-van” model as well as to challenge long-established beliefs about the mini-van. Thus, Brooke Shields hawks Routans and invents a Routan baby boom, with families prompted to procreate as a means of justifying their purchase of a German errand mobile.

In fact, Volkswagen even took it to another level by creating the “Routan Babymaker 3000” , an online program in which visitors can preview what offspring might look like (either the result of real or fantasy partners). Try it – it’s fun!

Brooke Shields selling minivans is admittedly not a huge leap, but that’s not what’s so great about it: VW has leveraged both television marketing and online marketing in a humorous and effective way. Don’t blame Brooke for lack of sales – as one former leader used to say, “It’s the economy, stupid”!