Ah, the 1960s. A time of social upheaval, political unrest and mounting unease about the future.

Sounds a lot like 2017, actually. But that doesn’t stop Deutsch from portraying the Nixon era as an idyllic age in this spot introducing Volkswagen’s People First Warranty:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=342QpEFmRpU&feature=youtu.be

Was that music festival supposed to be Woodstock? Where’s the free love? (The action in this VW Atlas ad from a few months back came closer.)

“We wanted to celebrate the emotional connection people have to Volkswagen—the soul of the brand and its drivers, their uniqueness, their optimism and their kindness,” Deutsch executive creative director Todd Riddle tells Adweek. “This is a story about people putting people first.”

Those hippies in the ad, titled “Rain,” look more like hipsters. They seem too well coiffed and suspiciously sober.

“The people who bought our cars have always been good-natured, kind, optimistic and free-spirited. They’re the ones who made our brand a cultural icon back in the ’60s,” says VW director of marketing Greg Tebbutt. “We wanted to celebrate Volkswagen owners, the type of people they are, and position the People First Warranty as our acknowledgement and appreciation of them.”

Obviously, VW’s reputation has suffered some dings in recent years, so harkening back to a supposedly simpler time makes sense, though Tebbutt insists such concerns didn’t inform his thinking.

“To be honest, that issue wasn’t a topic of conversation or motivation for this spot,” he says. “As a brand, we’ve recovered from the sales perspective, and what I want to do with the brand is to remind people why they loved it. This era, and what it captures, plays a big part about why people love our brand. We want to become more relevant and desirable in this market, and tapping into our heritage is just one lever on what we can pull from.”

Speaking of heritage, director Lance Acord of Park Pictures has a history with VW, serving as cinematographer on the automaker’s iconic “Milky Way” spot back in the day. (It’s not from the ’60s, but close—1999.) Though many viewers will surely go along for the ride, his effort to spin back the years feels a tad too happy-happy, offering a skewed, Hollywood version of a time and place, rather than a convincing evocation of the real thing.

In fairness, though, plenty of would-be customers weren’t around for the ’60s, so their only notions of the decade come from modern media anyway. Plus, the story has its sweet moments, and the presence of classic vehicles—the VW bus is from 1966, and the Beetle from ’61—is a plus.

But really, playing the woefully overused Joe Cocker version of “With a Little Help From My Friends”? Cosmic bummer!

“We looked at hundreds of songs for over a month, and this one kept coming back to us as the one to beat,” Riddle says. “It emotionally hits the right note, lyrically hits the right note, and is perfect for the spot’s timeline. It was just unbeatable as an option.”

CREDITS

Client: Volkswagen of America

Client Credits

President, CEO: Hinrich Woebcken

Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing: Derrick Hatami

Senior Director, Marketing Transformation, Strategy, & Communications: Greg Tebbutt

Director, Marketing Communications and Media: Jennifer Clayton

Advertising Manager, VW Marketing: Chanel Barresi

Brand Advertising Senior Specialist: Tammy Nguyen

Deutsch Credits

Creative:

Chief Creative Officer, North America: Pete Favat

Executive Creative Director: Todd Riddle

Group Creative Director: Heath Pochucha

Creative Director/AD: Paul Oberlin

Creative Director/CW: Matt Sherman

Art Director: Doug Pedersen

Copywriter: Tim Gillingham

Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo

Executive Integrated Producer: Margaret Nickerson

Senior Integrated Producer: Samantha Bonom

Music Supervisor: Eryk Rich

Music Producer: Chase Butters

Account Management:

Group Account Director: Tom Else Account Director: Alex Gross

Account Supervisor: Mary Connolly

Senior Account Executive: Nate Pouley

Assistant Account Executive: Andy Haumersen

Director of Product Information: Jason Clark

Product Information Specialist: Ryan Callahan

Account Planning:

Group Strategy Director: Donn Rohn

Associate Strategy Director: Ben Perreira

Strategist: Leigh Citarella

Business Affairs/Traffic:

Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo

Group Director, Integrated Business Affairs: Gabriela Farias

Senior Business Affairs Manager: Saeyoung Kim

Director or Broadcast Traffic: Carie Bonillo

Senior Broadcast Traffic Manager: Courtney Tylka

Production Credits

Production Company

Park Pictures

Director: Lance Acord

Executive Producer: Jackie Kelman Bisbee

Executive Producer: Scott Howard

Head of Production: Anne Bobroff

Line Producer: Caroline Kousidonis

Editorial Company

Rock Paper Scissors Editor: Adam Pertofsky

Assistant Editors: Marjorie Sacks & Martin Hsieh

Producer: Dre Krichevsky

Executive Producer: Raná Martin

Head of Production: Shada Shariatzadeh

Managing Directors: Linda Carlson & Jennifer Sofio Hall

Post Facility

A52 VFX Supervisor: Patrick Murphy

CG Lead: Andy Wilkoff, Manuel Guizar

2D VFX Artists: Patrick Murphy, Stefan Gaillot, Kevin Stokes, Michael Plescia, Michael Vaglienty

3D Artists: Andy Wilkoff, Manuel Guizar, Dustin Mellum, Tom Briggs, Mike Bettinardi, Michael Cardenas, Joseph Chiechi

Producer: Michael Steinmann

Production Coordinator: Andrew Rosenberger

Executive Producers: Patrick Nugent & Kim Christensen

Managing Directors: Linda Carlson & Jennifer Sofio Hall

Color Correction

Company 3

Colorist: Tim Masick

Global EP, Commercials: Ashley McKim

Producer: Alexandra Lubrano

Audio / Sound Design Company

Barking Owl

Sound Designer: Morgan Johnson

Mixer: Patrick Navarre

Creative Director/EP: Kelly Bayett

Producer: Ashley Benton

Music (Licensed)

Track: “With a Little Help From My Friends”

Artist: Joe Cocker

Composer: John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Publisher: Sony ATV

Label: UMG