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27-DEC-2025 | Excerpt from VW’s “3 years to make the mechanic” Ad

Author

Dan Bogachek
December 27, 2025

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Excerpt from VW’s “3 years to make the mechanic” Ad

It takes a week to make the car. And 3 years to make the mechanic.

Oh the difference between a bug and a man.

In just seven days a piece of steel evolves into a sturdy Volkswagen.

But only after three years does a raw recruit evolve into a bona fide Volkswagen mechanic.

It’s not an easy process.

He starts with a lowly doorknob and works his way up to the electrical system. (With an eagle-eyed supervisor over his shoulder.)

He takes every part apart. And puts back together again. Over and over and over.

Then we clock him.

If he does the right job in the right time, bully for him.

He does it again.

Only after he passes the test twice do we feel he’s mastered that part. And can go on to another. 🏁

 

  • Classic premise: man vs machine, or in this case man and machine. And with that premise, what follows is the quintessential zero-to-hero story.

  • Repetition/structural rhyming throughout. “Week to make the car… 3 years to make the mechanic,” “steel evolves into a sturdy Volkswagen… raw recruit evolve into a bona fide Volkswagen mechanic.” And the repeated 1-2’s starting with “He takes every part apart.”

  • Grade 1 on the Hemingway App. Average sentence is just over 8 words long. KISS!

Every hero has a coach — and here VW tells the story from the coach’s perspective. They throw tests at their mechanic until he becomes the real deal. The idea/claim planted in the very beginning: “VW mechanics are top shelf → VW = worry-free repairs.” The story is there to bring that initial seed to life in our imagination, all while entertaining us. Brilliant.

Zero-to-hero is one of the core human stories. It resonates so well because we see ourselves in the hero.