Funeral
Volkswagen1969
Funeral is a 1969 60-second television commercial for Volkswagen, created by Doyle Dane Bernbach (New York).
The line
Gee, Uncle Max, it sure pays to own a Volkswagen.
Why it works
A procession of limousines heads to a funeral while the dead man, Maxwell E. Snavely, reads his own will in voice-over and settles scores. His wife, who spent money like there was no tomorrow, gets $100 and a calendar; his sons, who blew every dime on fancy cars and fast women, get $50 in dimes. Bringing up the rear in a Beetle is nephew Harold, who always said it pays to own a Volkswagen, and who inherits the whole $100 billion. Art-directed by Roy Grace, written by John Noble and directed by Howard Zieff, the DDB spot is studied for making thrift funny and for holding the product back until the final reveal. Ad Age named "Funeral" with "Lemon" and "Think Small" as the loudest salvos of advertising's creative revolution. David Ogilvy called it the funniest commercial he had seen, Entertainment Weekly listed it among TV's 100 greatest moments, and New York magazine's 2008 poll of creative directors ranked it fourth.
Techniques
- Humour A dead man settles scores from beyond the grave, leaving his spendthrift wife and sons almost nothing, which makes thrift funny.
- Storytelling A funeral procession and a spoken will build to the reveal of a nephew in a Beetle, the sensible one who inherits the lot.
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