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When 2019 was coming to an end, so did the iconic VW Beetle, to make space for the company’s new electric fleet of vehicles. To celebrate the new decade Volkswagen decided to send off the Beetle in style with a commemorative film and a NYC’s very own Times Square takeover on New Year’s Eve.
Few other cars are quite as iconic as the Beetle. We knew the farewell needed to be as poignant as the car’s importance in culture. We partnered with London and LA based production company Nexus Studios along with director FX Goby on The Last Mile. We used a rotoscope animation technique, where we shot the entire story live action and animated over each frame, to give it a unique aesthetic in the color palette derived from the eras of the Beetle’s life. For the music, we created an original composition of 'Let It Be' sang by the Pro Musica Youth Chorus.
Our film tells the story of a young boy growing up with his Beetle. After a lifetime on the road, we see thousands of Americans from coast to coast, from era to era, coming to say goodbye. In a final act of benevolence, the Beetle transforms into a lightning bug and lights up the new all-electric Volkswagen ID. CROZZ – sacrificing itself for a better future. On social media, we encouraged Beetle fans to post their favorite memories of their car. Each post was united under #TheLastMile and a simple motif: Say g(o\!/o)dbye. Even big name Beetle fans like Andy Cohen posted to say farewell.