VW Australia plays down impact of Greenpeace ‘Dark side’ campaign

Volkswagen has said that the global ‘VW dark side’ attack campaign waged by Greenpeace over the company’s stance on emissions standards would have no impact on its brand image or influence its marketing plans in Australia.

VW Australia’s general manager of press and PR Karl Gehling said the campaign, a Star Wars-themed pastiche of VW’s Cannes Lion-winning TV spot earlier this month, would have “no impact on our local marketing activities.”

“I do not think the Greenpeace campaign will have an effect on our brand image in Australia. We have been proactive in downsizing our engines and improving fuel efficiency to reduce emissions. There is nothing we can do beyond we’re doing already,” he said.

Gehling added that he “couldn’t understand the criticism” levelled at the German carmaker, claiming that VW’s emissions levels are well within industry standards.