Scene from the Volkswagen Super Bowl ad.Volkswagen’s Chattanooga-made Passat is front and center in the automaker’s new Super Bowl commercial as the company hearkens back to a scene from the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life” to showcase German engineering.
The commercial shows VW engineers sprouting wings at often comedic moments every time a VW achieves 100,000 miles on the road.
A father driving a black Passat tells his daughter about the wings — a reference to a scene in the classic Christmas movie in which a character says, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”
Jeff Sayen, Volkswagen of America’s advertising manager, said the ad hits on “a special moment” between a father and daughter.
“What we really wanted to do is talk about the claim that Volks-wagen has the most vehicles than any brand with 100,000 miles,” he said. “We wanted to bring that to life — human stories told simply, and to have a humorous tone.”