VW Targets Dog Lovers, and Walkers - Brief Article

Brandweek, Sept 20, 1999 by Jeff Green

Volkswagen of America will chauffeur the hip young stars of aspiring indie film hit Dog Park to the Thursday Los Angeles premiere in Beetles and Passats as part of a coordinated sponsorship at five major screenings and promotions in Conde Nast magazines.

The automaker will have vehicles on display outside the premieres in L.A., New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Philadelphia, and local dealers will give away 100 tickets to the screenings in those markets. It's an attempt to gain additional favor with the crucial 20- to 30year-old consumer group-and could be seen as a post-Blair Witch Project way of taking a chance on a lesser-known property that might make it big.

In addition, promotional listings of VW's sponsorship will run in GQ, Details, Self, Bon Appetit, Wired, New Yorker, Conde Nast Traveler and Architectural Digest.

At the L.A. premiere, guests are being invited to bring their dogs, and dog walkers will be on hand. Dog Park is due to break nationally on Friday.

The movie, from New Line Cinema and Independent Pictures, stars Luke Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, Natasha Henstridge and Kids in the Hall alums Bruce McCulloch and Mark McKinney in a story about people seeking relationships through people they meet at dog-walking parks.