# Brooke Sheilds Volkswagon Ad Campaign - Am I missing a Joke? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393 "2008-09-26T21:40:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/1 "2008-09-26T21:40:58Z")
This ad campaign is all over TV and radio. Basically, Shields claims that women are getting pregnant so they can buy a new minivan from VW. I think there must be a joke that I’m missing, or this is a parody of something that is off my radar, because I cannot imagine that a major automobile manufacturer would spend big bucks on a campaing this lame and unfunny. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/2 "2008-09-26T21:59:06Z")
It seems to me to be a trend in advertising to make commercials just bizarre so that we’ll double take and say “what did she just say?”. (Put Skittles in the search box on YouTube for additional examples) I think that if Brooke Shields were just droning on about crash tests and JD Powers and Associates and highway MPG we’d tune her out if we didn’t already zoom past her (I love my new DVR!). I think there is a sameness about auto ads and this is trying to catch our attention primarily for being different. In any case it’s better than those VW ads in which people lick cars. Bleah! ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/3 "2008-09-26T22:20:32Z")
Basically, she is saying that the new VW is so safe and such a good car that the couple had a child just so they had a reason to buy it. Personally, I liked the absurdity of it, made me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/4 "2008-09-26T22:21:31Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > This ad campaign is all over TV and radio. Basically, Shields claims that women are getting pregnant so they can buy a new minivan from VW. I think there must be a joke that I’m missing, or this is a parody of something that is off my radar, because I cannot imagine that a major automobile manufacturer would spend big bucks on a campaing this lame and unfunny. > > What am I missing? Soccer mom van that’s fun to drive but can’t be purchased by women without children. It’s lame. ---
**Author:** ![ptr2void](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ptr2void/32/3406_2.png) [@ptr2void](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ptr2void)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/5 "2008-09-27T00:26:05Z")
And the car’s nothing but a Dodge Caravan with a Volkswagen logo! ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/6 "2008-09-27T02:25:46Z")
> [@ptr2void](#): > > And the car’s nothing but a Dodge Caravan with a Volkswagen logo! I’m not disputing this but…cite? I know Chrysler is part of Daimler(sp?) Chrysler but I didn’t think VW was in that mix. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/7 "2008-09-27T03:08:25Z")
So, does a new car help with depression? Does it matter if it has cruise control? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/8 "2008-09-27T03:15:24Z")
> [@bryan ekers](#): > > so, does a new car help with depression? Does it matter if it has cruise control? oooooooooooooooooooooooooo! ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/9 "2008-09-27T03:33:32Z")
It probably has nothing to do with it, and I don’t know if they even have this deal anymore, but at least back in the '80s, if you could prove that your child was born in a Volkswagon, they’d send you either $100 or $300 (I forget which). My dad got a check from them a few years after my oldest sister was born in his VW station wagon in 1981. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/10 "2008-09-27T04:44:46Z")
I think it’s a pretty good parody of vacuous celebrities earnestly taking up the cause dujour. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/11 "2008-09-27T06:24:45Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So, does a new car help with depression? Does it matter if it has cruise control? Okay, this right here is way funnier than the commercials. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/12 "2008-09-27T06:44:45Z")
> [@GildedLily](#): > > I’m not disputing this but…cite? > > I know Chrysler is part of Daimler(sp?) Chrysler but I didn’t think VW was in that mix. Actually, Daimler doesn’t hold that much of a percentage in Chrysler anymore. In 2007, Daimler sold 80.1% of their interest to Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., an American private equity firm. Daimler only owns 19.9% of Chrysler now. The new name of the company is Chrysler LLC, and it is firmly in American hands once again, with Robert Nardelli as Chairman and CEO. > **[Chrysler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler)** > > FCA US, LLC, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler (/ˈkraɪslər/ KRY-slər), is one of the "Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotive company Stellantis. Stellantis North America sells vehicles worldwide under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram Trucks nameplates. It also includes Mopar, its automotive parts and accessories division, and Th... ---
**Author:** ![ptr2void](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ptr2void/32/3406_2.png) [@ptr2void](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ptr2void)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/13 "2008-09-27T15:29:13Z")
> [@GildedLily](#): > > I’m not disputing this but…cite? > > I know Chrysler is part of Daimler(sp?) Chrysler but I didn’t think VW was in that mix. Yeah, I knew I should’ve included a cite in the original 🙂 [Car and Driver](http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shopping/7_passenger_family_haulers/2009_volkswagen_routan_first_drive_review/(page)/1) [Jalopnik](http://jalopnik.com/345468/vws-caravan-named-routan) [The Truth About Cars](http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/buy-a-routan-get-a-slush-fund/) and, of course, the obligatory [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Routan). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/14 "2008-09-27T23:43:17Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So, does a new car help with depression? Does it matter if it has cruise control? I’m tellin’ **elucidator** on you… ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/15 "2008-09-27T23:49:55Z")
Please, **Lamar Mundane** , **neutron star** , and anyone else spelling it with an “o”…the correct spelling is “Volkswagen”. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/16 "2008-09-27T23:58:01Z")
> [@GildedLily](#): > > I’m not disputing this but…cite? > > I know Chrysler is part of Daimler(sp?) Chrysler but I didn’t think VW was in that mix. Ford and VW collaborated before too on the [Galaxy/Sharan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Galaxy) minivan. The ad seems a bit tedious, Volvo had one that was more to the point, a couple simply screwing in their house, the open window letting us hear the springs of their bed squeeking. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/17 "2008-09-28T03:45:24Z")
> [@Daddypants](#): > > Basically, she is saying that the new VW is so safe and such a good car that the couple had a child just so they had a reason to buy it. Personally, I liked the absurdity of it, made me laugh. yep. It’s a little baffling to me that people would have trouble getting that. SNL and the Simpsons made careers out of this type of joke, yet put it in an ad and suddenly it’s a huge mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/18 "2008-09-28T03:56:41Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So, does a new car help with depression? Does it matter if it has cruise control? Gold. Anyways, I tend to dislike Brooke Shields but I found this ad very funny. And although a joke explained is never funny, yes, the point is that although minivans are the least desirable cars out there, this one is so cool that people is going to have babies just to have an excuse to drive one. It brought to mind another (very contrary) commercial where a kid asked his dad: -Would you kill a dragon for me? -Yes -Would you climb the tallest mountains for me? -Yes -Would you drive a minivan? And the dad just stayed quiet and looked at him on the rearview mirror. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/19 "2008-09-30T03:20:22Z")
“10,000 babies are born every day specifically for German engineering…” Oh, so they’re bringing back Nazi eugenics? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393/20 "2008-09-30T04:30:19Z")
My _ **wife** _, of all people, pointed out that Brooke is looking \*mighty hot \*lately. Could this be the opening to the “three-way” dialog I’ve been so reticent to establish? Thank you, Volkswagen. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brooke-sheilds-volkswagon-ad-campaign-am-i-missing-a-joke/465393.md?page=2)