VOLKSWAGEN has taken a leaf out of Subaru’s marketing playbook with its own take on “moments” with family and friends.

In its latest series of advertisements for TV, digital, social media and outdoor display, Volkswagen pursues – and nails – some unusual and interesting life moments, shown with a level of light-heartedness to make them palatable.

The TV ads include a guy standing alongside his (unidentified brand) 4WD ute up to the floorboards in mud and dismissing attempts by a Volkswagen Amarok driver to pull him out.

“Just parked,” he says.

There’s also a girl in the back seat of a Golf trying to eat ice-cream while her father runs through a carpark slalom course; a son charged with picking up his inebriated parents from a toga party (Tiguan); and an in-car father and son conversation that avoids a jogger but collides with the son’s revelation that he doesn’t like football (Polo) – a hard call given Volkswagen sponsors the Sydney Swans AFL team.

Volkswagen Group Australia commercial vehicle marketing manager Nick Reid told Mumbrella that the ad about the 4WD in the mud was one of those moments where you don’t want to admit something’s wrong.

“When you’re off-roading and something goes wrong, you feel like a right idiot – especially when your mates find out,” he said.

“The Amarok spot demonstrates that whatever you get into, the Amarok V6 Canyon gives you the power to get out of.”

DDB Sydney chief creative officer Ben Welsh said he was proud of the work because it’s inherently human.

“The best Volkswagen ads always are. We’ve married human insights with Volkswagen models to create some charming stories,” he said.

The 4WD ad and the one with the slalom-loving father are recent additions to the campaign that earlier showed the toga party fallout and the son who admits he’s not keen on footy.

The campaign was done by DDB Sydney with production company Revolver and Will O’Rourke.

By Neil Dowling