Volkswagen
On what is widely regarded as the most important campaign in the history of advertising, Roy did some of the very best work. Along with his partner John Noble (and occasionally Charles Ewell and Marvin Honig), Roy did Volkswagen print and TV that stands out as smart, witty, sometimes wacky, and always persuasive. It set a standard people still aspire to.
Volkswagen always ran ads in Life Magazine which was oversized at 10”x14”. Creatives loved it because it made their ads much bigger and more impactful than in other magazines. (Somewhat ironic for the campaign that brought you “Think small.”) VW ran 13 ads a year and as a bonus, the 13th was in color. So everyone gunned for the color ad. Roy and Charles Ewell came up with “paint the paint” which screams out for color.
“Funeral” is widely regarded as one of the best commercials of all time. In fact, in one poll a few years ago, it was selected as THE BEST. It’s a perfect example of the ‘reveal’, where they’re confident they can keep you interested until the product shows up. Also of note, no logo. They didn’t end with logos in those days.
Funny trivia: Legend has it that Roy didn’t go on the shoot. He had a vacation scheduled so the shoot was covered by an art director protege of Roy’s, Jim Scalfone. Nailed it, Jim.
Here are Roy’s original storyboards for Funeral. What’s notable is how the final spot mirrors the boards almost exactly, shot for shot. For example, the sons Rodney and Victor. Roy had a vision for this spot and it was thoroughly planned out. As Susan Calhoun Moss mentioned in her piece, Roy planned out everything shot by shot. Obviously Roy was confident enough in his vision that he didn’t need to go on the shoot.
Bob Matsumoto came into possession of these storyboards. He framed and presented them to Roy when he came out to LA to talk to Bob’s ad class. Thanks to Don Miller (who can literally find any ad done anywhere ever, including rarities like this) for these scans of the boards.
Another classic from Roy and John, “Mr. Jones & Mr. Krempler”. Simple and effective with a wonderful last line.
The Volkswagen Station Wagon
Volkswagen didn’t just have the Bug. They also had vehicles like the Station Wagon. And of course, Roy did great work here too. Exact credits are tricky. Most of this is probably Roy and John, except for Dinner which was written by Marvin Honig.
Somewhere between the ridiculous and the sublime sits “Dinner”—one of the quirkiest spots ever made for the account. You might recognize the actor as the voice of Maxwell E. Schneebly in “Funeral”. CW: Marvin Honig.
Another unique spot for a unique vehicle, Slide Show featuring Senor Wences.