Volkswagen sunk to new advertising depths for Shark Week, a beloved Discovery Channel yearly institution, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last week.
Volkswagen’s Great White advertising hope took the shape of an underwater drive-able VW Beetle, which revs around the ocean floor, chasing sharks, and getting some incredible footage in the process. Open Waters meets open-topped classic, if you will.
The Beetle is something of a cross between a shark cage (albeit not a particularly safe-looking one) and James Bond’s dream, made from tubular aluminum, with alloy wheels, propellers, and an inbuilt air system that allows the driver (diver?) to plug into before taking it for a spin, under the surf.
Engineered from the ground up, using blueprints for the actual VW Beetle, the Volkswagen team and marine biologist Luke Tipple said the car took approximately three weeks to build and is only about an inch off the above-water version.
The car was featured in a three-part short-form series aired during Shark Week, where viewers got a chance to check out the design process, the construction, and eventual submersion of the Beetle.
Beth, I'm sure you are correct in that it's a great piece of marketing. The VW folks have recently blitzed the United States with very effective marketing; i.e. Super Bowl--adolescent Darth Vader, etc. and several others. They seem to know what we love to see. The technology to put this under water and drive the "shark cage" is interesting also. Little practical use but interesting.
Everyone has said it so well. No real protection, pure advertising, media stunt. Yes, it's all of the above. I would have been very impressed if it were a student project.
At first, I thought it could lead to a new eco-tourism trek. I can't see anything practical here. Just a little fun.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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