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This commercial is not a circa 1970 follow-up to 1969’s infamous Woodstock Music & Art Fair. It’s not a the result of marketers in the 1980s looking back 10 or 15 years. It’s not Volkswagen’s late-to-the-party retro take on counterculture. No, this is Volkswagen’s People First Warranty commercial from 2017. Today.

It is a wholehearted embrace of Volkswagen’s history. The Microbus. An original Beetle. Hippies.

“I think what’s powerful about it,” Volkswagen of America’s marketing director Greg Tebbutt says, “is we’ve got a heritage story that is unique to us and only we can tell.”

But there’s something conspicuously absent from the 60-second “Rain” spot.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a man went out in the streets, throwing money in the air? Handing money out to passer-bys? Well Nissan decided to find out and hired an actor to do just that. It has created quite a ruckus! In more ways than one …

In a new ad sponsoring all kinds of programs, on regular and cable TV, Nissan is taking the competition by the horns. In their new ad touting their Livina 2011 (pics here), they directly attack GM, Honda and Fiat. Yes, they cite their competitors by name and even put their logos and cars in the ad.

In Brazil, this is almost unheard of. Back in the 90s Pepsi did a South American version of the coke wars. Some beer companies soon copycatted them. However, the ads were pulled quickly and I had the impression people were not impressed with such tactics.