Volkswagen Lemon

Honesty is a great way to promote and sell a product. It can give the consumer a sense of comfort as well as show them that the retailer or manufacturer isn’t hiding anything and showing their imperfections. That is exactly what Doyle Dane Bernbach displayed in an advertisement for Volkswagen automobiles in the 1960s. The advertisement was titles “Lemon” in large bold letters and beneath was written the following:

The Volkswagen missed the boat.

The chrome strip on the glove compartment is blemished and must be replaced. Chances are you wouldn't have noticed it; Inspector Kurt Kroner did.

There are 3,389 men of our Wolfsburg factory with only one job; to inspect Volkswagens at each stage of production. (3,00 Volkswagens are produced daily; there are more inspectors than cars.)

Every shock absorber is tested (spot checking won't do), every windshield is scanned. VWs have been rejected for surface scratches barely visible to the eye.

Final inspection is really something! VW inspectors run each car off the line onto the Funktionsprüfstand (car test stand), tote up 189 check points, gun ahead to the automatic brake stand and say "no" to one VW out of fifty.

This preoccupation with detail means the VW lasts longer and requires less maintenance, by and large, than other cars. (It also means a used VW depreciates less than any other car.)

We pluck the lemons; you get the plums.

I’m a big fan of honest selling my self and I think that Doyle Dane Bernbach did a great job utilizing this technique. It was a great way to separate Volkswagen from other automobile makers of the decade. Instead of using persuading words to attract the attention of a consumer they used a word to be wary of in the automobile industry. The word lemon attracted the attention of the reader and got them reading the small print, which is the seller of the ad.