Cops
Volkswagen2003
Cops is a 2003 press advertisement for Volkswagen, created by DDB London.
Why it works
A squad of American cops is pinned down in a street shoot-out, and every one of them has picked the same cover: not their own patrol car but a little Volkswagen Polo parked by the kerb. That single photograph, signed off "Small but tough. Polo.", is the entire ad. It is studied as a model of visual demonstration in print: the claim that a small car is strong is never argued, only shown, by borrowing a cop-movie cliché and trusting the reader to make the connection in a second. DDB London's ad then swept the 2004 awards season. It beat almost 10,000 entries from 71 countries to take the Press Grand Prix at Cannes, along with a Gold Lion in Outdoor; it won a Gold Pencil at the One Show; and the Gunn Report, which combines the results of the world's major creative award shows, ranked it the most-awarded print ad of the year.
Techniques
- Visual metaphor A single photograph of police under fire all sheltering behind a little Polo is the entire ad, trusting readers to make the connection in a second.
- Demonstration The cops' choice of the small car over their own patrol car as cover shows, rather than argues, that the Polo is tough.
- Humour Borrowing a cop-movie shoot-out cliché, the absurd choice of cover delivers the claim as a joke the reader gets in a second.
Sources · 4
Updated
