As an extension to the “light painting” adverts that were aired on Canadian TV earlier in the year, Volkswagen launched “Art Heist”, an ambient campaign that has also driven conversation online.
Long-exposure photographs, featuring the Volkswagen Jetta GLI creating “light paintings”, were framed and hung in various locations around the country. Anyone who walked past these pop-up galleries was free to take a framed photo home. This is nice, but nothing special. What if we also revealed that each photograph was one of a kind and hand numbered. This transformed the campaign and it quickly gathered pace online as the news spread. Soon hundreds of people were speculating, through social media channels, as to where the next pop gallery would appear and triumphant photos were posted of successful photo hunters and their #VWartheist bounty.