(Well, alongside its cousin, the VW van.) "For the Woodstock generation, driving a Beetle or its larger cousin, the Volkswagen van, was a form of protest against materialism and the gas guzzlers churned out by the big American carmakers," The New York Times notes. That clever marketing angle, combined with a low price and quirky appearance, helped cement the Beetle as an early symbol of '60s counterculture. " took gentle aim at an industry obsessed with superficiality and styling, rather than the substance underneath the car bodies." In many ways, it's a lot like Apple's initial marketing stance and aesthetic: Keep it minimal and emphasize those everyday needs. "The message was one of smart anti-luxury," a car blog points out. Instead, "Think Small" featured simple, clean photographs of the Beetle, presenting it as a practical, compact alternative to the muscle cars and gas-guzzlers on the market. This 1959 "Think Small" campaign was a departure from traditional automotive advertising, which was full of bluster, fantasy and illustrations of the vehicle. Additionally, The Beetle's size was a key factor in its popularity in the United States.Ĭrafted by the New York-based ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach, what's been dubbed "one of the greatest advertising campaigns of all time" helped make the Beetle the "biggest selling foreign-made car in America throughout the '60s" (via BBC). Not only was the Beetle less of an investment upfront, but it didn't cost owners a ton overtime. This notable feature also made it much easier to maintain and repair the car. And transformed into a counterculture symbol for anti-war, anti-government folks who celebrated free love.įirst off, it's air-cooled engine, for example, was much smaller and lighter than a water-cooled system. Undoubtedly, distancing the Beetle from its unsettling, dark roots was a large undertaking, but, within less than two decades, the vehicle would be reclaimed. In fact, it was also during this time that the now-iconic Volkswagen model was dubbed the "Beetle." More than 10,000 Beetles were manufactured by the end of 1946, and, by the end of the decade, Volkswagen had sold around one million Beetles. In fact, the car's brochure stated that it was "suitable not only for personal use but also for transport and particular military purposes." By May of 1938, Volkswagen's Wolfsburg-based factory opened and began churning out vehicles.Īfter Nazi forces were defeated in 1945, Germany's automotive production factories were put under the control of the British government. That is, Ferdinand Porsche developed the vehicle under the motto "strength through pleasure," and aimed to make an all-terrain vehicle for Nazi military use. But this alleged "car of the people" effort was something of a propaganda-minded guise.
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