Volkswagen’s 1959 advertising campaign that promoted the small Beetle through deliberately understated advertising was “Think Small.”
The campaign was created by Doyle Dane Bernbach, with art direction associated with Helmut Krone and copywriting by Julian Koenig. Its sparse layouts, plain language, and large areas of white space contrasted sharply with the crowded, boastful automobile advertising common at the time.
Rather than hiding the Beetle’s small size, the campaign made that feature its central selling point. It presented compactness, economy, and practicality as advantages, helping Volkswagen appeal to American consumers despite the dominance of large domestic cars.
“Think Small” is often cited as a turning point in creative advertising because it treated an apparent weakness honestly and made that honesty persuasive. The campaign is also commonly discussed alongside Volkswagen’s later “Lemon” advertisement.