“The Californians” Try To Help Sell Volkswagen ID. Buzz

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I love the Volkswagen ID. Buzz. I’ve loved it for about a decade, since whenever the first concept was shown. I also have a bit of a personal stake in it selling well. At an EV conference in Amsterdam I was speaking at, I spoke a bit with a Volkswagen executive in the lounge area. I was asking about the vehicle coming to the US, and he indicated that the Volkswagen board and top executives knew there was a lot of … buzz about it, but weren’t sure if it would actually sell well. I thought it would. However … I’m not sure it’s doing so well. I’ve only seen one in the wild, and we have all kinds of EVs all over the place here in Southwest Florida.

One of the big appeals of the ID. Buzz was that it was a throwback to the iconic Volkswagen hippie van, but super modern, clean, and somehow futuristic as well. It appears Volkswagen is trying to tap into that appeal more with a recent ad campaign for the Buzz.

Aligning with “Saturday Night Live’s” 50th anniversary season, they created a commercial with former SNL stars Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, and Fred Armisen. Wiig, Hader, and Armisen are now “mature” versions of very stereotypical Californians from yesteryear. Perhaps it’s not extending all the way back into tie-dye hippie days, but it’s in line with that. They are playing characters from their old iconic “The Californians” skit. Before going further, here it is to watch and enjoy:

The 50th anniversary of SNL also coincides nicely with the 75th anniversary of Volkswagen coming to the US, and California has been a central market for Volkswagen in the US. “Volkswagen’s recent 75th anniversary in the U.S. and Saturday Night Live’s 50th season are milestone moments for two iconic brands,” said Rachael Zaluzec, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience and Brand Marketing, Volkswagen of America. ‘The Californians’ is as synonymous with SNL as the ID. Buzz is with California, making it the perfect vehicle to bring back a sketch that resonates with so many. Especially in the wake of this recent tragedy that has affected communities across California, we believe in the healing power of comedy.” (Volkswagen also donated to the California Fire Foundation “to support first responders and their families around the state.”

While I lamented not seeing more Buzzes (is that the right plural for this?) in the wild, but as Volkswagen points out above (and as the video makes clear), California is really the target market for the ID. Buzz. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly on the radar there yet, but the model is extremely new of course. Its first deliveries appeared in the 4th quarter — 1,162 were registered in the USA (presumably, mostly in California). So, once it gets rolling, we don’t really know how it will do yet. Could it be a big hit? I hope so. But I assume the best place to gauge that will be in California. And one does have to wonder — how much will this SNL collab stimulate interest and sales? It is a pretty gnarly video.