Volkswagen sheds ‘Das Auto’ for new image

Berlin: Scarred by a public relations thrashing over its “Dieselgate” scandal, Volkswagen is planning an image offensive, and its “Das Auto” global advertising slogan is an early casualty.

Launched in 2007 under ousted boss Martin Winterkorn, the slogan has had the advantage of simplicity, merely meaning “The Car”. However, the German carmaker’s leaders, anxious to proclaim a reformed corporate culture, have criticised it as out of step with a company trying to show new-found humility.

A Volkswagen spokesman would not pronounce “Das Auto” dead quite yet, but said it would no longer accompany the famous VW badge in the coming advertising campaign. Its replacement is hardly radical.

“Wherever our logo appears in future, it will be backed by the new brand slogan ‘Volkswagen’,” the spokesman said. “The slogan will be rolled out in stages across the world.”

VW has been largely on the defensive since US authorities revealed in September it had admitted rigging exhaust emission tests on some diesel-powered models.

The new campaign, discussed last week at a closed-door meeting of 2,000 group managers, is Volkswagen’s latest attempt to regain the initiative in rebuilding its reputation following a sharp drop in sales in some markets, including the United States and Britain.

According to a manager who was there, Volkswagen brand chief Herbert Diess described the Winterkorn-era slogan — which could suggest that VW alone can define the modern motor car — as absolutist.

Such an image of regal arrogance ill fits the reality of VW today: a company facing huge costs from recalling and modifying cars to meet emissions regulations, plus likely regulatory fines and a welter of lawsuits.

Volkswagen needed to show humility, the manager said, and the slogan ‘Das Auto’ was pretentious. The old slogan also failed to convey VW’s technological ambitions in areas such as electrically-powered vehicles, the company’s manager said.

 

 

Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.