The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2025
Volkswagen South Africa's Forever Golf hands the new Golf's nickname to the nation
For the Golf Mk8.5 launch, VW and Ogilvy turned South Africans' 47-year habit of nicknaming Golfs into an 8-part docuseries and a public naming conversation.
Volkswagen South Africa · Ogilvy South Africa
What it had to solve
South Africans have nicknamed every Golf generation themselves — from the Mk1 'Rabbit' and 'VR6' to '007' — even though the factory never used those names. Launching the new Golf, Volkswagen South Africa and Ogilvy decided the people should name this one too.
How it works
South Africans have nicknamed every Golf generation themselves — from the Mk1 'Rabbit' and 'VR6' to '007' — even though the factory never used those names officially. Launching the new Golf, Volkswagen South Africa and Ogilvy decided the people should name this one too.
Forever Golf made the launch an act of authorship. An 8-part online docuseries followed real Golf fans across generations as they drove the new model and told the stories behind the old nicknames. The campaign then opened a nationwide social conversation inviting communities to say which nickname best represented the icon, promising the country's choice would become the car's official name.
The launch became participatory storytelling instead of a brand monologue: the docuseries put real drivers on screen, communities nominated the names they felt fit the car, and product news turned into national conversation. Forever Golf won Gold in new-launch campaigns at Loeries 2025 plus Gold and Silver at the 2025 TikTok METAP Ad Awards.
Why it lands
- The insight was already public: South Africa had been naming Golfs for 47 years, so the campaign simply formalised a relationship the audience had built itself.
- By giving real drivers the screen time, the docuseries treated customers as the brand's co-authors rather than its targets.
- Inviting the public to name the new model converted a launch announcement into an open question the whole country could answer.
- The promise to adopt the winning nickname gave participation real stakes, turning affection for the car into a reason to join the conversation.
What it did
The launch became participatory storytelling instead of a brand monologue: the docuseries put real drivers on screen, communities nominated the names they felt fit the car, and product news turned into national conversation. Forever Golf won Gold in new-launch campaigns at Loeries 2025 plus Gold and Silver at the 2025 TikTok METAP Ad Awards.
What you can take
If your audience has already been naming your product for decades, stop announcing and start listening: hand them the next chapter and let affection do the marketing.
Since then
Forever Golf collected honours across the 2025 season — Gold for new-launch campaigns at Loeries, plus Gold and Silver at the TikTok METAP Ad Awards — and Ogilvy South Africa's two wins for Volkswagen and Audi made it the most awarded South African agency at that ceremony. The campaign joined the archive's longer pattern of Volkswagen South Africa work that treats local car culture as the brief.
Sources
- All the 2025 SA TikTok Ad Awards winners
- Ogilvy leads South Africa at the TikTok METAP Awards 2025
- VW Forever Golf Campaign
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