| Title | HOVER CAR |
| Brand | VOLKSWAGEN GROUP CHINA |
| Product / Service | THE PEOPLE'S CAR PROJECT |
| Category | B02. Consumer Products |
| Entrant | PROXIMITY BEIJING, CHINA |
| Entrant Company: | PROXIMITY BEIJING, CHINA |
| Sales Promotion/Advertising Agency: | PROXIMITY BEIJING, CHINA |
| 2nd Sales Promotion/Advertising Agency: | GOODSTEIN & PARTNERS Beijing, CHINA |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Georg Warga | Goodstein/Partners | Ecd |
| Daryl Villanueva/Felipe Ferreira/Flavio Vidigal | Proximity China | Acd |
| Jojo Zhang/Vivian Liu/Derek Lui | Proximity China | Copywriters |
| Andy Li/Zoro Cui | Proximity China | Art Directors |
| Fang Ji/Sofai Lv | Proximity China | Designers |
| Hymn Wong | Proximity China | Motiongrapher |
| Ever Liu | Proximity China | Editor |
| Cameron Rimington | Proximity China | Head Of Ia |
| Catherine Liu/Maureen Sherrard | Proximity China | Project Managers |
| Alex Zhang | Proximity China | Planer |
| Enko Von Arnim/Guay Chinchye/Lorraine Zhang/Audrey Li/Carolyn Yu | Proximity China | Account Team |
| Alex Csergo | Proximity China | Md |
| Inna Pan | Agency Producer | |
| Stink | Production Company |
Volkswagen wanted to be perceived as a more innovative car brand. So in 2011, Volkswagen launched the People’s Car Project to inspire Chinese people to create new ideas for cars. Our goal was to attract a massive following of online users to help Volkswagen reimagine the future of cars. In 2012, Volkswagen celebrated the people by turning their ideas into reality.
The Hover Car, a winning idea from a girl in Chengdu, inspired Volkswagen to reimagine the future of cars. Volkswagen applied magnetic levitation technology to her idea, turning it into a concept car. Next, we celebrated her idea by dedicating a film to her, featuring the girl’s parents test-driving the Hover Car. It was revealed to her at a fake movie screening, where her friends, family, and a flash mob made an appearance. The girl became a celebrity overnight as online audiences followed her journey on Chinese video platforms.
The people recognized Volkswagen for listening to them, eventually transforming Volkswagen from a conventional car company to an innovative one. The Hover Car caught the attention of the local and international press, including the New York Times, Forbes, The Huffington Post, and ChinaDaily. Volkswagen became #1 in online presence amongst all car brands* and the #1 most talked about car brand on Chinese social media.** The film received 18 million views online, increasing website registrations by 21,000 and idea submissions to a grand total of 141,000. Volkswagen is now perceived as innovative by 70% of the people.***
Together with the people, Volkswagen continued to innovate by launching the Music Car and the Intelligent Key at the Beijing Auto Show People with no engineering or car design background got to see their car ideas come to life. By asking the people to reimagine the future of cars, Volkswagen once again became the people’s car.