Patrick Beeson

I arrived at my apartment yesterday evening to find a small package waiting at the door. Inside was another box containing the final piece of a brilliant marketing campaign that made me want to tell everyone I know to buy a VW GTI.

What was in the box? A small, plastic creature called a Fast.

The marketing campaign originated last year with the launch of VW's redesigned GTI hatchback. There were several commercials promoting this car, all featuring the Fast, which slightly reassembles the car itself. This theme was also carried through in the brochure and DVD you can pick up from a dealer.

What makes this campaign so good is the personality VW creates for the GTI. I honestly feel like my GTI is unique, which is something exemplified with the receipt of the Fast. Heck, the Fast arrives in a box that mimics the brochure I read everyday for two months (no-space sentences, plaid and all).

You can even customize the Fast with removable tail pieces -- I'm rocking the dimpled tail right now -- and movable arms and legs. Or for the more creative, the Fast manual suggests making stencils to paint your Fast. Some folks have taken this to the extreme.

If you'll recall, one of the reasons I bought this car was because of the style and attention to detail that VW put into this product and its marketing. And like Apple -- oh, how I want an iPhone -- and their iPod and iBook (both of which I own, the former twice) it has the effect of getting a customer to recommend the product and company without prompting.

I know the new car-feeling is still kicking, but I can't see jumping to another company in the foreseeable future. In fact, I've already got my next car picked out (R32)...