Volkswagen Super Bowl LVIII commercial is ‘an American love story'

LAS VEGAS — Volkswagen of America plans to lean into Americana and its U.S. history for a Super Bowl commercial, which is a key component of a 75th anniversary advertising campaign.

Volkswagen has released 16-second teasers on YouTube leading up to Sunday's game. In one teaser, someone reminisces about a VW bus and surfing. In another clip, there's a scene from a car show centered around the GTI. There's also one that shows a young person driving their first car, a Jetta, and then a still photo of the Woodstock music festival in 1969.

Each teaser ends with the phrase "An American love story."

VW is marking 75 years of U.S. sales in 2024 and plans a yearlong campaign to celebrate key products and milestones. The Volkswagen Type 1, later known as the Beetle, was first brought to the U.S. in January 1949.

Volkswagen last advertised nationally during the Super Bowl in 2014.

Charlie Hall, Volkswagen National Dealer Advisory Council chairman and president of Hall Imports in Brookfield, Wis., said he's seen the commercial and called it fantastic.

"It's what we need as a brand," Hall told Automotive News on the sidelines of the NADA Show here.

Hall said a Super Bowl commercial is something Volkswagen dealers have wanted. He pointed to Volkswagen's 2011 Super Bowl ad spot in which a child in a Darth Vader costume used "the Force" to start a Passat. Hall called that spot "an absolute smash hit."

"It really works as a halo to the brand," Hall said of Super Bowl advertising. "A lot of [automakers] are out of the Super Bowl this year. That provides an opportunity for us."

Stellantis and General Motors plan to sit out as official advertisers. BMW and Kia will also have Super Bowl commercials. Toyota, meanwhile, initially said it would not air a Super Bowl commercial but later reversed the decision.

Super Bowl LVIII is set for Feb. 11 here and will air on CBS.

Hall said VW is aiming for U.S. sales of 400,000 in 2024, which would be a 22 percent increase over 2023 sales. Volkswagen sales rose 9.3 percent to 329,029 in 2023.

"What we are doing with the Super Bowl campaign is celebrating our 75-year history and how the Americans shaped Volkswagen," Andrew Savvas, VW's head of U.S. sales and marketing, told Automotive News following the brand's make meeting Saturday.

The spot will also celebrate people and other touchstones that Savvas said helped make VW what it is today.

"It's a beautiful spot that reminds America that they played a big part in who we are," Savvas said, pointing to Woodstock and Herbie, the Beetle featured in the Disney "Love Bug" movie franchise.