Description
VW Bug – Full color 9 1/2″ x 13 1/2″ ad that demonstrates how “Volkswagen’s unique construction keeps dampness out.” A camera, placed partially above and partially below the level of the water, has taken a picture that shows a Red VW Bug floating comfortably in about ten feet of water. The text begins by saying that “For years there have been rumors about floating Volkswagens“ and claims that this one stayed afloat for 42 minutes. It then wonders why anyone is surprised since a sheet of flat steel runs under the car, “sealing the bottom fore and aft”. It warns us that this was not done to make a bad boat out of a Volkswagen, just a better car. It explains that this procedure keeps the nasty things on the road from coming up into your Volkswagen and reminds you that the top part is “practically airtight”. As with another ad from the ’60s, you are encouraged to roll a window down, just a little bit, in order to close your door easily. You are reminded at the end of the ad that it will not float indefinitely “So drive around the big puddles. Especially if they’re big enough to have a name.”
Source: March 10, 1967 Life magazine & March 21, 1967 Look magazine.
