Is this the best of the new (and not a moment too soon) breed of inventive car and truck ads? Is this why Australian advertising is considered to punch above its weight? Let’s say yes to both questions. DDB Sydney was given the job of showing that the Amarok V6 is the most powerful ute in its class. So it took the power ute ad clichés, and put a brilliant idea behind them. DDB’s Too Powerful for TV tells the story of the most epic ute ad never quite made. The Amarok, the ad states, is able to do things so remarkable they can’t be shown on TV and the film comes complete with a British prima donna director, austere safety officer, and a raft of clever ways to show what Aussie car manufacturers have struggled to demonstrate for years.

Volkswagen commercial vehicles national marketing manager, Nick Reid, commented, “For ute owners, yes it’s about power credentials, but they also want to know what their ute is actually capable of. That’s the challenge. So, when DDB came to us with this idea about the Amarok being too powerful to advertise we said, ‘this is fantastic’, but even if we can’t show it for real we have to do it for real, because the Amarok can. So, we did. Everything you see the Amarok doing in the commercial it did for real. Sort of.

“So, the idea behind our new campaign is to show it, without breaking a single advertising code of conduct. We’re getting the punter onside with us, taking them on a journey and giving them what we all want to see – a powerful ute doing powerful stuff, in an entertaining way.”

DDB Sydney creative partner, Vincent Osmond, explained, “We had to demonstrate the power of the most powerful ute in its class. But we can’t really show its potential. So, we did what we’ve always done with Amarok; found a way around the problem. What we’ve created is a self-aware, tongue in cheek look behind the scenes at the ute ad we’d all make if we could – or perhaps more poignantly, were allowed to.”

DDB Sydney creative partner, Jade Manning, added, “We needed to punch above our weight in a big way with this new Amarok campaign. We don’t have the media to engage in a war of attrition with our competitors, so we need to deliver big, fame-driving creative – work that is going to stand out in this world of ‘ute-vertising’.

“For me, the real fun is the things we couldn’t show. Every time the ute engages in activity that would otherwise be deemed ‘reckless’, a technique is employed to show us, but at the same time not show us, what it did. It’s almost more entertaining not seeing it.”

The campaign, supported by digital and social, launched with a series of teaser films and was followed by a 60-second broadcast spot during Australian motorsport’s day-of-days, Bathurst.