Think Small

The copy for Think Small was written by Julian Koenig[1] at the Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) agency in 1959.

Krone teamed up with copywriter Julian Koenig to develop the "Think Small" and "Lemon" ads for Volkswagen under the supervision of William Bernbach.

Although the layout used the traditional format - image, headline and three-column body were retained, other differences were subtle yet sufficient to make the advertisement stand out.

The body copy was full of widows and orphans, designed to give the ad a natural and honest feel.

Charles Addams, Bill Hoest, Virgil Partch, Gahan Wilson and other top cartoonists of that decade drew cartoons showing Volkswagens, and these were published along with amusing automotive essays by such humorists as H. Allen Smith, Roger Price and Jean Shepherd.

The most popular variant of the Think Small advertisement features a bare background, with only the VW Beetle in view to shift the reader's focus to the vehicle immediately.