Volkswagen's Super Bowl 2024 Ad Celebrates 75 Years In America With Its Most Iconic Cars

If you're the type of TV viewer who enjoys the Super Bowl for its advertisements as much or more than for its football, you can enjoy this new nostalgia-heavy ad from German automaker Volkswagen. Super Bowl ads are famous for being much more expensive than your typical TV ad and often include bigger budgets, higher production values, and celebrity cameos. All kinds of brands and companies seek to take advantage of the most-watched televised event of the year, such as T-Mobile, which will have a commercial this year featuring movie star Jason Momoa. 

Car companies typically buy up a lot of ad space during the big game — this year, for example, BMW has a commercial starring Christopher Walken. However, Volkswagen isn't just advertising for a specific new vehicle with its Super Bowl spot, but instead kicking off a year-long celebration of the brand's 75th anniversary of its U.S. launch. Volkswagen entered the U.S. market in 1949 with the Beetle, which is still synonymous with the automaker today.

The Super Bowl ad is part of a wider campaign Volkswagen plans to roll out over the next year that will celebrate the contributions and milestones the company has made in the decades since coming to America. This will be the first time the company has advertised during the Super Bowl since 2014, though it did have one during the game in Canadian markets last year that showed off Volkswagen's ID. Buzz, a long-anticipated EV inspired by its iconic Microbus. The ID. Buzz makes an important appearance in this year's commercial as well, which shows the history of Volkswagen in the U.S.

Titled "An American Love Story," the two-minute spot starts in black-and-white with Neil Diamond's "I Am... I Said" playing throughout its entirety. The song references "a frog who dreamed of bein' a king," highlighting the Beetle's unlikely success story. It debuted in America at a time when big boxy cars were in style, while its design was quite the opposite. The commercial plays up those humble beginnings by showing the Beetle's debut in the country, depicting its arrival in a New York port after passing the Statue of Liberty — recalling the journey of turn-of-the-century immigrants. 

As it drives through the streets of the city for the first time, New Yorkers give it odd looks, not sure what to make of the quirky-looking car. But then a young couple sees it in a showroom and seems to like it. The ad then transitions to color as the blue Beetle is driving down a country road. What follows is a montage showing Volkswagen becoming ingrained in American culture, starting in the mid-century and moving forward through the '70s, '80s, '90s, and beyond. The fictional Herbie the Love Bug makes a cameo, as do Bart and Lisa Simpson making a "punch buggy" joke.

The ad wraps up with the text: "We shape its metal ... you shape its soul." Finally, the electric ID. Buzz appears and drives down a modern New York street, getting odd stares from a modern couple in the 21st century, bringing things full circle — Volkswagen is still turning heads with its unique designs.

A previous 15-second teaser from Volkswagen drives home the message of the commercial with some context, focusing on Americans' initial response to the Beetle when it debuted in 1949. "The Beetle arrived in America at a time when bigger meant better," intones a narrator over slow piano music. "People laughed at its size and ridiculous shape; they could barely sell them. But all of that was about to change." 

The footage that accompanies this voiceover starts with stills of mid-century New York from the full ad, with locals giving odd looks to the strange new Beetle driving by. A billboard seen in the first image advertises a typical large car of the time, saying "Bigger & Better." The Beetle, with its funky design, is clearly bucking the trend. The full commercial shows that not only was the car eventually accepted, but became woven into American culture. 

The Super Bowl ad is a fitting start to Volkswagen's year-long anniversary campaign, which will focus both on the past of the company and its future as it moves into producing more EVs, including the Microbus-inspired ID. Buzz. "Over the past 75 years, Volkswagen has grown from a tale of two Beetles into a part of America's cultural fabric," said Rachael Zaluzec, senior VP of customer experience and brand marketing for Volkswagen of America. "As we look forward to the next 75, we will celebrate the real people and real-life moments that have made Volkswagen brand the people's love story it is today."

The full Volkswagen commercial will air during Super Bowl LVIII, which kicks off live from Las Vegas on Sunday, February 11.