Experience is the Queen.

I borrow this wonderful VolksWagen campaign to tell the story of the revolution we are currently experiencing.

In the late 1990s at the turn of the 2000s, VolksWagen launched the New Beetle, a modern take on the historic Beetle, to do so it unleashed one of the most brilliant headlines in advertising history by playing with a most powerful insight, that of generational transition.

The Beetle as well as the Buddy were icons of the Hippie world of the 1960s, those of putting flowers in your cannons, Woodstock and the Beat Generation rewave.

Those peace and love hair people growing up became the Yuppies of the equally glorious 1980s, those of Gordon Gekko and Wall Street. Even the new beetle was no longer the same, it had an unpopular entry price and positioned itself on an 'elite by appealing to the desire for radical chic status symbols. Hence the copy so powerful.

I often use this comparison because there is so much talk today about Gen Z and its values without considering that even for them tomorrow the context will be different from today and they will change their behaviors. They probably won't become Yuppie, but Start upper, they will shoot in Tesla and have crypto accounts. One certainty we have is they will be insensitive to advertising so VolksWagen will have to find another key to talk to them when it launches The Ultimate New Beetle.

And in fact it is already doing so, some of the group's brands, notably Porsche and Audi (Gekko) have entered video games in "product placement" mode. Some may wonder what sense it makes for high-end brands to talk to kids with no income. The answer is seeding, they are forging a reaction with them today through a native experiential form. Bmw starts launching cars by inviting people to visit them in the metaverse. Not to mention fashion brands producing lines dedicated to digital twins and avatars.

Seeding and Nurturing through experience, which in many cases already is but as of tomorrow will be the one supplanting advertising.

As Confucius says, if I listen I forget, if I read I remember, if I do I understand. 'Experience works on physical and empathic participation through storydoing, leaving people with memories, which works on emotionality and connections, including those with brands.