Volkswagen Jetta, India

Volkswagen. Das Auto.

It’s not very long since I have known Volkswagen well. As most of us, I came to know about the Volkswagen through the iconic Beetle- The nice little car that has been a rage all around the world ever since its launch. Though I never knew that the first Beetle was launched in the year 1953 because I thought if it’s a small car and so good, then it must have been in India. But even small has different connotations.

Well leave all this behind. Finally, the real Volkswagen has arrived in India. Yes, “Volkswagen, Now in India”. Not its Czech cousin, Skoda, its real Volkswagen.

And just before a week or so, VW launched their 3rd offering in India, the Jetta. VW is shear beauty and bliss, to just even watch, forget driving and sitting inside. And I realized this for the first time when I saw a fleet of VW beauties, lined up at India Auto Expo 2008.

So, what’s the deal bro?

The TVC, being aired on our TV channels these days about the VW Jetta, is a deliciously crafted one, I must admit, and very much in sync with the kind of positioning Volkswagen is trying to achieve here- European, Perfection, Elegance, Artistic, etc.

But, the big guys at Volkswagen or their high profile ad agency, just made a very, very small mistake. Everything in this TVC is purely European or Western at least, and from no where Indian, right.

But just give a look at the newly launched Jetta’s number plate. It shows some number like, MH-01 AS 1564, something like this.

I don’t know what difference it would have made if they had used the real number plate in this TVC, or even had left it blank for that matter. But, no, marketing companies keep on throwing such cheap shit on us, the poor Indians.

Dude grow up fully, if you think that India can buy such classics from you, then at least make honest communications if not Indian flavored communications, to these poor country’s rich guys.

Honest communications is one thing that is really missing from the still evolving Indian market. Some companies are surely exceptions, but they are out numbered by the dishonest ones like anything.