Volkswagen GTI brings back a classic

May 12, 2009 by olivia

Tribal DDB London has created a radical, all-digital campaign for Volkswagen’s new Golf GTI Mk VI, which launches in the UK on 22nd May. The large-scale online campaign comprises a social media seeding plan, email activity, rich media online ads, traffic drivers on www.volkswagen.co.uk and search - all driving to The GTI Project: a giant Scalextric track that allows you to race the new Golf GTI online.

volkswagen-gti-project-05-05-09

The campaign was inspired by the true story of the car’s history: the first GTI was designed and built in secret by Volkswagen engineers in their spare time, purely out of a love for performance motoring. The GTI Project takes you inside a restricted access workroom in the Volkswagen factory, where the GTI engineers are racing their new car in miniature, no less fine-tuned and expertly engineered than its full-size counterpart.

The 1:43 scale models of the new VW Golf GTI are fitted with tiny cameras that let you zoom between the 200 buildings of the gleaming model city with a ‘driver’s eye’ view on a Scalextric track measuring 30×25ft, while recording your lap. Users have the opportunity to relive their boyhoods - taking control, crashing round corners, setting their own fast lap then challenging their friends to do better.

The site reveals the faster, cleaner and more efficient hot hatch, from its new 2.0 litre TSI engine to the advanced six-speed DSG gearbox, but focuses on the spirit of the legendary car rather than the statistics. Complete with lab-coat technician to dust you off and set you back on track when you wipe-out, this virtual track engages people with the real emotional reward of a GTI, not that its flashy, but that its fun. Ultimately, it’s about the thrill of driving; something that GTI drivers and engineers seem to understand instinctively.Go to www.gtiproject.com and get racing!

Thanks to all the blogs and sites that have been giving the work great reviews. Here are just a few: