GTI Bannerbahn - Golf GTI

Background

When Volkswagen launched the first Golf GTI in June 1976, it set the standard for years to come. Seven generations of GTI (and 210 extra horsepower) later, the communications task was to prove that the newest Golf GTI was still the unbeatable hot hatch.

Idea

In paid-for banners, Dutch drivers were invited to see if they could keep up with the new Golf GTI as it raced in real time across the four biggest websites in the Netherlands. (Nu, Telegraaf, Autoweek and GeenStijl, since you ask.) Reaching an audience of millions, thousands attempted to beat the GTI by clicking on it as it raced.

The way the idea worked was by live-streaming an actual Golf GTI racing on a race circuit onto which were faithfully painted the websites.

It was a real car on a real track but it looked as if it was on the web page.

Results

The Bannerbahn reached millions of people. On raceday, 10,000 players caught the GTI with a CTR of 22.5%.

Our Thoughts

This is one of those ideas where the ‘Making of’ film http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=hxi5OFWcGfo is genuinely fascinating. The idea seems simple enough. Race a car across four websites but making it happen was massively complicated and must have been horribly technical to get right. The websites had to be painted on the tarmac of a race track then filmed vertically by drones at exactly the right angles to match the view you’d expect.

In terms of the blurring of the lines between real and virtual, this is a tour de force. A real car in real time on the web page. Catch it if you can. And, actually, a surprising number of people did.

This is the sort of idea that gets the tecchies purring as well as petrolheads everywhere. Fun and entirely relevant to the GTI.