77% of magazines along with their ads end up in the trash. This is a huge waste of paper. So when Volkswagen wanted to create a campaign to promote the eco-conscious thinking behind its BlueMotion vehicles, their ad agency Ogilvy developed a print insert that got the people of Cape Town to recycle the magazines via the cities post boxes!
You open a Facebook photo gallery called Amarok FlipDrive, click the first image, and keep the right arrow button pressed. The photos flip fast enough to feel like a running movie. A flipbook, built out of a Facebook album.
In April, Mercedes Smart in Argentina created the first of its kind Tweet Commercial using its Twitter stream. Now Volkswagen Amarok in Turkey has created the Facebook alternative.
The Volkswagen Amarok is positioned as an ultimate all terrain vehicle. It can go everywhere. From the city to sand to water. With some creativity from McCann Erickson Istanbul, it can even go on Facebook.
201 images that follow each other in sequence are uploaded to the Amarok FlipDrive Facebook photo gallery. Opening the first photo and keeping the right arrow button pressed makes the photos flip by fast and gives the effect of a running movie.
The flipbook experience is very jerky the first time, but once all the photos are cached, it plays as seen in the video below.
What is the Volkswagen Facebook Flipbook?
A Facebook photo gallery that behaves like a flipbook animation when you hold the right arrow key to move quickly through sequential images.
How many images are used?
201 images, uploaded in sequence.
What do you actually do as a user?
Open the first photo in the album and keep the right arrow button pressed to “play” the sequence.
Why does it feel jerky at first?
Because the images are not yet cached. Once cached, playback becomes smoother.
What is the broader pattern?
Using native platform mechanics. Streams, galleries, navigation keys. As the “media” layer for a social commercial.
A billboard looks normal until you point your phone at it. Then the Beetle “juices up” into a 3D scene that spills out of the frame, turning a static poster into something you can explore.
That is the twist behind Volkswagen’s Beetle “Juiced Up” launch, created with Red Urban. Traditional out-of-home placements like billboards and bus shelters double as augmented reality markers. Download the custom app, scan the printed ad, and a 3D experience unlocks on your screen.
An AR marker is a printed visual pattern that a camera can recognize. When the app detects it, it anchors digital 3D content to the real-world poster so the animation appears to sit on top of the physical ad.
In large automotive launches, the best out-of-home work turns “I noticed it” into “I did something with it”, without asking people to learn a new behaviour.
Out-of-home already has the two things AR needs. Scale and repetition. People pass the same placements multiple times, which makes it easier for curiosity to build. Once someone scans, the experience feels like a hidden layer you only get if you engage.
The other advantage is perception. A revamp is hard to communicate through copy alone. A 3D reveal makes the “newness” feel more tangible, even if the viewer only plays for a few seconds.
This is not just about feature education. It is about reframing the Beetle’s personality and making the redesign feel more assertive and contemporary. The app is a proof device. It says “this is different” by behaving differently than a normal poster campaign.
It is an out-of-home launch activation where Volkswagen posters and billboards act as AR markers. A dedicated mobile app unlocks a 3D Beetle experience when viewers scan the ads.
Markers make the poster itself the interface. That keeps the experience visually seamless, and it helps the 3D content feel physically attached to the real ad.
It makes “newness” experiential. A 3D reveal can communicate attitude and redesign energy faster than a feature list.
Friction. If the app install and scan flow is slow, most people will not complete it. The reward has to justify the effort quickly.
Reduce steps and increase immediate payoff. Clear instruction at the poster, fast recognition, and an instant 3D moment that feels worth showing to someone else.
