Re: I just saw my first Phaeton commercial. (02_GTI_1.8T)
This is a different ad, a sixty second spot, to be exact, and one I'm sure a lot of people saw, being as it was on the AFC semi-final game between the Patriots and the Titans.
Gotta say...VW's advertising for this car seems to be very much motivated towards selling more Passats and Jettas than selling any Phaetons. The ad starts by talking about the Beetle, then moves on to talk about the Phaeton's features (four-zone climate control, air suspension and AWD, to be specific). The theme of the ad is that VW brought a bunch of new thinking to the compact car segment 55 years ago, and they're bringing the same kind of new thinking to the luxury car segment.
The thing is, the ad never, ever mentions price. In an era where you've got Kia talking about its new "luxury" sedan, there's nothing really to suggest that the Phaeton's price is anywhere more than, say, $45K. Anyone who goes to the VW website to look at that car is going to be surprised.
I guess VW's thinking Phaeton sales are irrelevant, and that it's more important to get people to look at Passats by getting them to go to the site or into the showroom in the first place--something that's probably a pretty sound long-term strategy.
