VW trades in ‘surprisingly ordinary’ campaign for better value strategy

Volkswagen has decided to ignore public pressure to cut prices, and is scrapping its “Surprisingly ordinary prices” campaign in favour of a new strategy promising customers they will get more for their money.

“More Volkswagen for your money”, replaces “Surprisingly ordinary prices,” as a retaliation to the recent public outcry over UK car pricing.

Created by BMP DDB, the new campaign will aim to inform consumers that VW is making several specification improvements to its cars such as air conditioning and extra airbags, but not increasing its prices.

The campaign launches at the end of this week with press, radio and Internet advertising. This is the first time VW has advertised its brand as value for money.

VW’s communications manager Bernard Bradley said: “It has always been the case that we will not reduce our prices, and we have said this all along. This would create bad feelings among our existing customers who bought cars a year or so ago.”

The ‘surprisingly ordinary prices’ campaign had run for nearly five years and was introduced to combat peoples perceptions that its prices in the mass market are high.

Car manufacturers sales fell at the end of last year, as consumers held off buying new cars to see if the Consumers Association gets its way and forces manufacturers to drop prices.