DifferenceThe Beetle OldBug.com

Idea

We want this idea to be about different experiences people have when driving a vintage VW. It’s all about invoking nostalgia and taking people back to the sense of adventure and of caring that took place when the VW Beetle came about. In the 60s and 70s people were revolting, they were fighting for civil rights, for peace and for a better world. This idea is about how even now, people who were the driving force of many movements back in the day, can be the difference in their current lives.

“Lawyer by day, rocker by night” VISUAL: A lawyer in his mid-fifties wearing a black suit with a blue tie and holding a leather briefcase steps inside the house after a long day at work. He tosses his car keys (it’s a company car) into their designated dish before going upstairs. The car keys are simple: the black key on a thin silver ring. His house is orderly with a sophisticated yet dull palette (think grays, whites, blacks, light blues) — the kind of house that is so eerily clean it feels like no one lives there.

“Lawyer by day, rocker by night” VISUAL: The man changes into some more casual clothes — a burst of color compared to his surroundings, but nothing crazy. A looser fitting purple button up with the first few buttons undone, khaki shorts, and dark brown Birkenstocks. He opens a drawer to pull out a different car key, this time on a tie-dye key chain. He grabs a guitar case from his closet covered in colorful stickers, including logos from ‘60s and ‘70s bands and stickers supporting environmental causes or policies.

“Lawyer by day, rocker by night”VISUAL: It’s time. He steps outside and gets into a different car: a blue vintage VW microbus. He dusts off the sunglasses holder and pulls out a groovy pair of round light red sunglasses and puts them on before cranking the tunes (“Ariel” by Dean Friedman). He’s back in his groove. He cruises for a short amount of time before arriving at a community center.

“Lawyer by day, rocker by night”VISUAL: He steps inside and greets his band mates, men of a similar age wearing similar clothes. Cut to the band playing a benefit show for a local charity. They’re covering old songs, and though they’re not horrible, they’re not the best either. But they’re having so much fun jammin’ up on stage. They’re loving it, and the crowd is loving it. It’s all for a good cause. It feels right.

VISUAL: Screen would go black and, and “Be the difference” would merge into “The Beetle Difference.”

“Not your average wife”

VISUAL: Woman in her late fifties finishes up cooking. She’s wearing casual clothes, her flats have some wear and tear from walking around all day, some age spots cover her hands, and she has pronounced smile lines. Her husband arrives from work.

WIFE: “Hi honey, dinner is ready.”

HUSBAND: “Thank you, sweetheart. I’ll be here when you get back.”

VISUAL: Woman steals a few bites of food, before squeezing husband’s shoulder and says goodbye.

“Not your average wife”VISUAL: She grabs the keys. No, not the ones to the Honda. The ones with the worn “peace and love” key chain. The ones with the keys to her vintage, red, convertible VW Beetle. She unlocks the door and gets in, and old memories of being a young girl, of adventures, of concerts, of caring so much about everything are shown in a rapid series of images on the screen. She pops in her old cassette tape. The one that says, “Mixtape for my Daisy.” Old lyrics of rock songs, of starting revolutions and love ballads fill the car as she drives.

“Not your average wife”VISUAL: Once she pulls up to her destination, she presses stop on the player, removes the tape, goes to place it down and is faced with the tinged photograph of her, her friends, and her boyfriend at the time following the Grateful Dead in their 1969 Tour. She gets out, waves hello to Susan, the Director at the local soup kitchen. As they enter for a night of helping, we can see the sign on the building, “Community Soup Kitchen & Outreach Center.”

VISUAL: Screen would go black and, and “Be the difference” would merge into “The Beetle Difference.”

“Family Heirloom”

VISUAL: A man in his mid-twenties steps out of his parents house (or his college house) and walks towards his old bug. It’s been kept well, but almost doesn’t fit his personality. As he sits in the car, rap music starts playing. He quickly turns it off and searches until he finds a classic song from the ‘60s (Magic Carpet Ride).

“Family Heirloom”

VISUAL: He steps out of the car, throws on a volunteer shirt on, takes off his jacket and you can see his scrubs. He goes around playing board games with some older people, even serving them food, until he walks upon a couple. The couple is ecstatic to see the young man and begin to hug him. As they are hugging him, you can see an image of the couple (much younger) standing next to the same bug the young man drove to see his family and volunteer.

VISUAL: Screen would go black and, and “Be the difference” would merge into “The Beetle Difference.”