VW's New Comedy Series Explains 'The Unwritten Rules of the Road'

Drivers, please! Learn when to soft honk, never call dibs on a parking spot, and absolutely positively under no circumstances mess up the zipper merge!

Comedian Chris Distefano riffs on “The Unwritten Rules of the Road” in a series of Volkswagen of America spots from Johannes Leonardo dropping this week across digital channels and social media:

Distefano comes off as a righteously miffed everyman, and he’s a fine fit for the sitcom-style material given his tenure on MTV’s “lessons”-oriented Guy Code and Girl Code.

Below, in his most ranty installment, Chris explains the nuances of the zipper merge. “It goes: one car, one car, one car, one car,” he pleads. “Don’t be the jerk who tries to get in there and disrupt the zipper merge!”

Though mildly edgy, Distefano’s takes don’t rise to Larry David-level whininess. That’s a good thing, because no one wants to see a peeved malcontent behind the wheel.

“We knew a quick witted, self-aware comedian would be perfect for these observational quips of life,” agency group creative director Jonathan Santana tells Muse. “Chris Distefano’s tone is just perfect to deliver these codes that are unsaid, unwritten, just respected and adhered to. Until they’re not. And that’s where Chris’ charismatic comedic style fits just perfectly.”

Shot in a single day by Eleanor Pictures director Kelsey Taylor, the spots feature some ad-libs, but “we definitely wrote these with Chris in mind, so a lot of his tone was already reflected in the scripts,” says Santana.

VW views the flight as an extension of its “Drive Bigger” platform, and the nameplate invites users to share their personal driving edicts with the hashtag #VWUnwrittenRules.

That’s all I have to say about the campaign. It’s time for me and Chris to wave goodbye:

CREDITS

CLIENT: Volkswagen Group of America, Herndon, VA, USA
President and CEO: Scott Keogh
EVP, Sales & Marketing: Andrew Savvas
SVP, Marketing: Kimberley Gardiner
Director, Brand and Retail Content: Jennifer Clayton
Manager, Advertising: Chanel Baresi
Senior Specialist, Brand Advertising: Annabel Lyon

AGENCY: Johannes Leonardo, New York City, USA
Co-Founder & Creative Chairman: Jan Jacobs
Co-Founder & Creative Chairman: Leo Premutico
Chief Creative Officer: Julia Neumann
Group Creative Director: Jonathan Santana
Sr Copywriter: Julian Cohen
Sr Art Director: Mikayla Lapierre
Jr. Copywriter: Tiah Marr
Junior Copywriter: Sonny Sirivong
Junior Art Director: Sonja Malic
Design Director: Charles Watlington
Group Executive Producer: Rebecca O’Neill
Senior Producer: Danica Rosen
Producer: Sharizma Budden
Director, Business Affairs: Alesa Blanchard-Nelson
Business Affairs Manager: Joe Bringuier
Broadcast Traffic Manager: Sargia Green
Managing Director: Emily Wilcox
Group Account Director: Sam McCallum
Account Director: Jackson Klein
Account Supervisor: Alexa Iliou
Account Supervisor: Andressa Paccini
Product Specialist: Ryan Callahan
Chief Strategy Officer: Steve Zaroff
Group Strategy Director: Mary Bakarich
Communications Strategy Director: Cooper Lemon
Senior Strategist: Jake Ullman
Jr Strategist: Mariah Sanchez
 
FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY: Eleanor
Director: Kelsey Taylor
Cinematographer: Adam Lee
Executive Producer: Sophie Gold

EDITORIAL: Wax
Founder/Editor: Maggie Sloane
Head of Production: Evan Meeker
Assistant Editor: Joseph David

FINISH / VFX / COLOR GRADE: Wax

AUDIO POST: Mr. Bronx
Executive Producer: Hanna Choi
Associate Producer: Maggie Norworthy
Senior Mixer/Sound Designer: Geoff Strasser

MUSIC HOUSE: Consortium
Founder / Composer: Seth Olinsky
Music Editor: Justin Miller
Head of Music / Composer: Seth Olinsky
Composer / Music Producer: Maggie Flatley

MUSIC PUBLISHING
Composition: Regras Não Escritas
Publisher: Consortium