{"id":2133,"date":"2010-06-17T14:33:39","date_gmt":"2010-06-17T09:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ramble.sunmatrix.com\/?p=2133"},"modified":"2026-02-27T13:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T12:31:13","slug":"volkswagen-polo-gti-fast-lane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/volkswagen-polo-gti-fast-lane\/","title":{"rendered":"Volkswagen Polo GTI: Fast Lane"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Fast Lane: turning routine into a shortcut you choose<\/h2>\n<p>Volkswagen is soon going to launch its new Polo GTI. To create awareness and generate buzz, it built a \u201cFast Lane\u201d in subways, malls and elevators around Germany. In this campaign, \u201cFast Lane\u201d means a playful, faster-feeling alternative route placed beside the normal one, dedicated to everyone who likes to go beyond the regular, who is curious for new stuff, and who enjoys speeding it all up a little.<\/p>\n<h2>How it works: add a faster option that feels like play<\/h2>\n<p>The mechanism is simple. Place an obvious \u201cnormal\u201d route next to an unexpected alternative that is quicker and more fun. Then let people self-select into it. The viewer controls the switch by choosing the fast lane, and that choice becomes the story.<\/p>\n<p>In German urban commuting environments, small design changes in high-footfall spaces can shift behaviour quickly because routine is strong and the contrast is instantly visible.<\/p>\n<p>The real question is whether you can turn \u201cfast\u201d from a spec into a shortcut people choose in public.<\/p>\n<h2>Fast Lane 1: The Slide<\/h2>\n<p>Long staircase. Next to it a slide. Which way would you go?<\/p>\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uccwLPf1Y5A?fs=1&#038;playsinline=1\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"fullscreen; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<h2>Fast Lane 2: The Shopping Carts<\/h2>\n<p>Some carts are pimped with a skateboard. Up for some extra shopping fun?<\/p>\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YlAmwRP1R4U?fs=1&#038;playsinline=1\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"fullscreen; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<h2>Fast Lane 3: The Elevator<\/h2>\n<p>A sound system turns the ride into a rocket take-off. Welcome on-board.<\/p>\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aR9HM0c6oVQ?fs=1&#038;playsinline=1\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"fullscreen; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<h2>Why it lands: speed becomes a feeling, not a spec<\/h2>\n<p>The campaign does not explain performance. It lets people experience a mindset. Faster. Lighter. A little rebellious. Because the \u201cfast\u201d option is obvious and self-selected, it feels earned, which makes the idea stick without needing specs. Each execution creates a moment where the \u201cfast\u201d choice feels like a reward, not just efficiency.<\/p>\n<p>Extractable takeaway: If you want people to believe a feature, design a situation where they can choose it and feel it, not just read about it.<\/p>\n<h2>The business intent: borrow everyday behaviour as proof<\/h2>\n<p>For a GTI launch, \u201cfast\u201d can easily become generic language. This is stronger than repeating performance adjectives. Fast Lane makes it concrete. It attaches the idea of speed to real-world micro-decisions, and turns the resulting participation into shareable proof that travels beyond the physical placements.<\/p>\n<h2>What to steal if you want to turn a feature into a behaviour<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Build the contrast into the environment.<\/strong> Normal route next to the fun shortcut.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Make the faster choice self-evident.<\/strong> People should understand it in one glance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Let viewer control do the persuasion.<\/strong> Choosing it is more convincing than being told.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Create a story per location.<\/strong> Each execution is a complete, watchable moment on its own.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>A few fast answers before you act<\/h2>\n<h3>What is Volkswagen\u2019s \u201cFast Lane\u201d for the Polo GTI?<\/h3>\n<p>A set of playful public-space installations (slide, skate carts, rocket-sound elevator) that let people choose a \u201cfaster\u201d option, designed to build buzz for the Polo GTI.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the core mechanism?<\/h3>\n<p>Put a normal route next to an unexpected shortcut that is quicker and more fun. People self-select, and the choice becomes the story.<\/p>\n<h3>Why does this work better than talking about performance specs?<\/h3>\n<p>It turns \u201cfast\u201d into a felt experience. Participation makes the feature believable without needing explanation.<\/p>\n<h3>What business intent does it serve?<\/h3>\n<p>It makes the GTI\u2019s positioning concrete and talkable, then relies on the resulting participation moments to travel beyond the physical placements.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the most transferable takeaway?<\/h3>\n<p>If you want people to believe a feature, design a situation where they can choose it and feel it, not just read about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fast Lane: turning routine into a shortcut you choose Volkswagen is soon going to launch its new Polo GTI. To create awareness and generate buzz, it built a \u201cFast Lane\u201d in subways, malls and elevators around Germany. In this campaign, \u201cFast Lane\u201d means a playful, faster-feeling alternative route placed beside the normal one, dedicated to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/volkswagen-polo-gti-fast-lane\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Volkswagen Polo GTI: Fast Lane<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Volkswagen\u2019s Polo GTI Fast Lane turns everyday routes into playful shortcuts: staircase slide, skate-cart shopping, and a rocket-sound elevator.","_seopress_robots_index":"","iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159,27],"tags":[1745,7531,7532,7533,946,2521,7530,792,2530,7451,942,939,943,945,941,947,986,944,948,938,940],"class_list":["post-2133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-communication","category-marketing-strategies","tag-ambient-advertising","tag-commuter-marketing","tag-ddb-berlin","tag-ddb-hamburg","tag-elevator","tag-experiential-marketing","tag-fast-lane","tag-germany","tag-guerrilla-marketing","tag-interactive-out-of-home","tag-metro-station","tag-polo-gti","tag-rutsche","tag-shopping-carts","tag-slide","tag-subways","tag-the-fun-theory","tag-u-bahn-treppe","tag-ubahn","tag-volkswagen","tag-vw-fast-lane-driven-by-fun"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-content\/uploads\/vw_fast_lane.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgYpE1-yp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2133"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16256,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2133\/revisions\/16256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}