Volkswagen begins 'VW Rule the Road' contest on Instagram

(September 17, 2017) HERNDON, Va. — Volkswagen has released “VW Rule the Road,” a first-of-its-kind Instagram experience as part of its integrated campaign to launch the all-new 2018 Tiguan. Introducing a new tagline, “The New King of the Concrete Jungle,” the effort speaks to the model’s more sophisticated and refined design for urbanites.

The social experience, “VW Rule the Road” incorporates elements from the launch spot titled "The New King,” including the inflatable gorilla, the actress who plays the driver, and of course her Tiguan as she races through the city.

For 21 days, fans get to embark on a scavenger hunt to chase down the new Tiguan and get a chance to win daily prizes for their efforts. Every day at 1 p.m. ET, a clue will appear on the daily hunt tile on the @VWRuleTheRoad Instagram page. Using that clue, users will then have to find a hidden Tiguan within the tiles using the carousel feature.

There are Tiguan models everywhere but only one is the right one. Once users find the correct hidden Tiguan, they must take a screenshot of the Tiguan and direct message it to @VWRuleTheRoad for a chance to win a daily prize and a chance to qualify to enter the grand prize drawing. The grand prize consists of a once-in-a-lifetime 10-day trip to San Francisco, Miami and New York.

“For the 2018 Tiguan SUV launch, we wanted to engage our fans in a way that’s never been done before,” said Jennifer Clayton, director of Marketing Communications and Media at Volkswagen USA. “To create something both technically and creatively unique to the Instagram platform, we’ll engage users by inviting them to search for the Tiguan hidden within the tiles of the experience, where they may also find rewards and prizes.”

The broader Tiguan campaign, developed by Volkswagen’s creative agency of record, Deutsch, includes three national TV spots directed by Noam Murro of Biscuit Filmworks. The effort kicked off with “The New King,” followed by “Top of the Food Chain” and “Nuts” spots that highlight new features such as the available Pedestrian Monitoring (included in Front Assist) and a six-year/72,000-mile New Vehicle Limited bumper-to-bumper transferable warranty. Additional campaign elements include cinema, digital pre-roll, print and digital banners.

“To cement the positioning of ‘The New King of the Concrete Jungle,’ we built a living, breathing city that lives up to that statement in every sense of the expression,” said Todd Riddle, Executive Creative Director at Deutsch. “We wanted to push the boundaries of the platform as far as we could without breaking it. I don't believe there's a native Instagram feature or behavior we’re not tapping into for this experience.”

The “VW Rule the Road” experience started on Sept.15 and ends on Oct. 5. Every day at 1p.m. ET, users will have eight hours to submit their screenshots for a chance to win a daily prize and be entered for a chance to win the grand prize. Grand prize winners will be contacted after Oct.12.