VW - Volkswagen - "Get in Get Happy" / Office yeah mon (2013) :60 (USA)

In a beige elevator with beige outfits in a nondescript boring beige office building two office-drones share the usual elevator greeting: "I hate Mondays." "Yeah, they're the worst"

But today it's different, as another co-worker chimes in with a thick Jamaican accent "Don't worry mon, everytin' will be alrite."

Mister Jamaica beams around the office assuring someone struggling with the vending machine "Don't fret" and that the sticky bun will come soon. Confused colleagues ask him "Hey Dave, you're from Minnesota, right?" after Dave has told an exasperated coworker to "turn that frown the other way around".

What is up with this guy? He looks like a Minnesotan in beige pants, but he sounds as super-chill as the security guard at my local minimall.
In fact, that security guard, who is from Jamaica not Minnesota, is so chill I often wonder what would actually happen if someone tried to do something stupid there. He may be able to take them down with some well chosen chill words. "You don't wanna do that, mon."

So what has made Mister Minnesota so chill? Turns out, it's his peppy red Volkswagen. I expect this ad will cause controversy as someone is doing an accent from another country tends to get people annoyed with the stereotyping. But maybe those who complain need to learn to "chill, mon."

While I find it funny and wish this office-drone had busted out in full-blown patois, I struggle to understand the connection to German Engineering. Maybe they could have made the car yellow, green and black to make it less jarring.

Client: Volkswagen
Ad agency: Deutsch, Los Angeles
Directed by Tom Kuntz
Location: Daily News in Woodland Hills, CA
Tagline: “Get in. Get Happy”
Producer: Jeff Sweat

Music: Trusoundnewyork