Real or fake?

By tbt* staff writer
Published January 28, 2005

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That's the question being asked about a particularly incendiary Volkswagen ad being circulated via e-mail and the Internet. In it, a sinister looking man with a checked kaffiyeh around his neck is shown climbing into a new VW Polo. The scene switches to an outdoor cafe, and then the driver is shown pushing a detonator button. The car immediately fills with a fireball, but doesn't blow apart. Cut to the tagline, which features the VW logo and says: "Polo. Small but Tough." Rumors have been swirling for days that the ad is a form of viral marketing to build buzz for the new VW. But the Jerusalem Post now reports that Volkswagen is threatening to sue the makers of what has turned out to be a bogus publicity campaign. The Lee and Dan agency that created the ad specializes in irreverent viral ads. Lee and Dan now claim the ad was only meant to reach a small professional audience. (Uh huh, and we're giving away all the ads that you see in this publication.)