06/03/2026
🚗 The Ad That Changed Advertising Forever
In 1959, Volkswagen ran a simple magazine advertisement featuring a tiny image of the Beetle and two words:
"Think Small."
At the time, American car companies were selling bigger, flashier, more powerful cars. Advertisements were packed with bold claims, glamorous illustrations, and lots of text.
Volkswagen did the opposite.
The Beetle was small, plain, and imported from Germany: hardly what most Americans thought they wanted. Instead of hiding those facts, the ad embraced them.
The result? One of the most influential advertising campaigns in history.
"Think Small" helped transform modern advertising by proving that honesty, simplicity, and clever design could be more effective than flashy sales pitches.
More than 65 years later, many of those old Beetles are still cruising around, serving as rolling reminders of a campaign that changed marketing forever.
Have you ever owned or ridden in a Volkswagen Beetle?
