Bill Bernbach is most famously known as the creative behind the iconic and hugely successful ‘Think Small’ and ‘Lemon’ advertising campaigns for the Volkswagen Beetle, campaigns which many consider to be the most influential advertising campaigns in the history of advertising. The campaigns launched Volkswagen ahead of its competitors and made sales of the Volkswagen Beetle soar.
When first produced the ‘Think Small’ advertising campaign was unlike any other automobile advertising campaigns around at the time, which were often gimmicky and impersonal. Bernbach creatively used the disadvantages people often associated with the Volkswagen Beetle and transformed these negative views into selling points. He did this by focussing on what made the Beetle different to other cars on the market and targeted people in particular who didn’t purchase one of the cars in the past for the very reasons mentioned in the ad. For example, ‘Think Small’ relates to the fact that the Volkswagen Beetle was notably smaller than other automobiles on the market at the time and Bernbach utilised this to communicate to its audience that this factor could be perceived as being beneficial when it comes to cost and efficiency and therefore the Beetle compensates for its small size by offering the things that other automobiles lacked.
Another example of this can be found in the Volkswagen ‘Lemon’ advertisement. The paragraph states that this car is imperfect due to a blemish on the chrome strip on the glove compartment. Bernbach used this method to show that a model with a blemish barely visible to the eye is considered reason enough for the model to be rejected therefore implying that every automobile sold is in perfect condition and would therefore require less maintenance due to the manufacturers impeccable attention to detail.
The ‘Think Small’ campaign consisted of a small black and white photographic image of the Volkswagen Beetle located in the top corner of the page surrounded by masses of white space and the strapline ‘Think Small’. Bernbach creatively utilised white space so that attention was immediately drawn towards the content. Also the major use of negative space reinforces the message being communicated by almost forcing the audience to read the strapline.
The ‘Lemon’ advert consists of a large scale photographic image of the Beetle, with the header ‘Lemon’ located directly beneath the image. Bernbach’s ideal was simplicity and therefore concentrated on a specific selling point that could sell without a lot of talk. Bernbach wanted the audience to see the Beetle in a realistic light and therefore decided to photographically portray the automobile.
Bernbach decided to treat his audience differently; his advertisements empathised with real life, creating ad campaigns with a sense of realism. Bernbach was bound by the notion that his audience needed to be respected in order to gain positive reactions to his advertising. In addition to this he failed to underestimate the intelligence of his audience and believed that they could grasp exactly what is was that he was aiming to communicate.
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