Heidi Klum, Seal Take on Role as New Volkswagen Brand Ambassadors

Their first joint appearance for the Volkswagen Tiguan ad campaign

Wolfsburg/Berlin, 27 September 2007 - Volkswagen, Heidi Klum and Seal announced today at the Automobilforum in Berlin a three-year cooperation. “Klum and Seal are a modern patchwork family. They are natural and unpretentious personalities, tolerant and globally orientated – and thus represent values which can be attributed to Volkswagen, too,” explains Stephan Grühsem, head of Group Communication at Volkswagen.

Seal has had close ties to the Volkswagen Group for some time now. The relationship began at the launch of the new Volkswagen Passat in Hamburg in February 2005. This was followed by appearances at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show and the Audi R8 presentation in Las Vegas and by a photo shooting for the Audi A5. “Our relationship has turned into a real friendship,” Grühsem revealed at the press conference. “Seal truly has petrol in his blood. He is extremely savvy when it comes to knowing the ins and out of our automobiles.” And since Heidi Klum also has long-standing ties to Volkswagen, it seemed only natural to devise a promotion concept that would accommodate both of them as a couple. “It is their first joint appearance as brand ambassadors,” says Grühsem.

“With the Volkswagen Tiguan we want to take new innovative directions – not only with regard to the car itself, but also with respect to how we present it,” explains Jochen Sengpiehl, the head of Marketing at Volkswagen. An analysis revealed that Heidi Klum and our brand are an ideal fit. She is authentic, radiates a zest for life and Volkswagen buyers are able to identify with her. Heidi Klum is probably the most famous German personality in the US, with twelve appearances on the Jay Leno Show and her own successful television show which has won her three Emmy nominations. She has positive credentials all round and has the reputation of being the typical German “Fräuleinwunder”. This is the reason why Volkswagen wants to intensify their work with them in the US.

The collaboration will begin with the campaign for the Tiguan, which entails both print ads and a TV commercial as well as Making-ofs to be posted on the Volkswagen website and a video broadcast by the couple to the dealership conference in Andalusia. The TV commercial will feature Seal’s new CD, “Living the Right Life”, as the soundtrack.

“I told the VW guys that they should leave the Tiguan with us in Los Angeles …a great car: nimble, fast and full of technical refinements,” enthused Seal. “My garage is full of products from Volkswagen. If it was possible I would testdrive every new car from them coming out.“ Technically sophisticated automobiles with a discerningly sporty design – that’s what fascinates him.

It’s actually Heidi Klum, though, whose relationship with Volkswagen cars goes back much further. Even as a little girl, Heidi rode around town with her dad in a VW Bus. “Some years later, we went on holiday in a Beetle convertible,” Klum laughed. “We still have it today. It has a really unique colour: amber gold.“ She herself, says Klum, adores the successor to the Beetle, the New Beetle, adding that she has a hardtop and a convertible version of the car parked in her garage in LA. These days, however, the family is so large that they actually only travel in the T5 Bus.

The couple says its collaboration with Volkswagen has been a lot of fun, that they made a good team and were able to contribute ideas of their own and that they look forward to more joint appearances for Volkswagen.

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Source: Volkswagen

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