Volkswagen was launching the 2012 Jetta GLI, the top-of-the-line version of the popular Jetta model. The challenge was that many Canadians considered the Jetta to be simply an affordable car.

With the launch of the GLI however, Volkswagen had the opportunity to highlight the class-leading performance characteristics of the model. If we could convince our younger, performance vehicle enthusiast target that the 200-horsepower GLI was worth their attention, we would also provide a much-needed halo effect for the entire brand, driving Jetta sales amongst the general car-buying public.

The frames disappeared from the galleries quickly, but didn’t vanish forever. Messages on the stolen artwork had successful thieves sharing their steals on Volkswagen Canada’s Facebook page. And fans shared gallery locations online so that they could be there when replacements were hung.

The campaign contributed to over 1m earned Facebook impressions and nearly 2m earned Twitter impressions. It was the most successful Jetta GLI launch in Canadian history: A record 240% increase in sales.

We set out to prove that the performance of Jetta GLI was so remarkable that it elevates driving to an art form. So we used the GLI to create art so stunning that our target would want to steal them. First, we shot a launch commercial for the Jetta GLI using a custom camera rig that captured both motion picture and long-exposure stills. Using those stills, we produced a series of limited edition light paintings, which were hand-numbered and framed. Finally, we hung the frames on poster hoardings across Canada that we’d transformed into pop-up 'Performance Art' galleries.