There are very few reasons you are allowed to punch another man and not fear repercussions. It’s their birthday, they flinched, you see an old-school Volkswagen Beetle before they do. What you can not do, however, is punch someone because you see any Volkswagen at all. That, my friends, is grounds for a beatdown.
The new Volkswagen ad campaign is playing off the spirit of the old punch-buggy road game. Except the whole point was that VW Bugs were a dying breed and seeing one was a big deal, even several years ago. Is Volkswagen trying to tell us something about their future projections of success?
I don’t know why such a little thing makes me so upset but I can’t watch one of these commercials without hoping that one of the characters, upon being punched, loses it and starts flailing on the other screaming, “THAT’S NOT THE WAY YOU PLAY THE GAME!” Maybe it’s the way marketing campaigns insidiously try to become a part of pop culture. I just can’t wait for the Punch Dub Facebook game.