''Changes'' is a British

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

launched in 1987 to promote the second-generation of the

Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...

. The 50-second ad was directed by David Bailey and stars the model

Paula Hamilton Paula Hamilton (born 23 January 1960) is an English model. She is best known for her appearance in the 1987 Mk II Volkswagen Golf TV advert ''Changes''. In 2006, she returned to public recognition as a judge on ''Britain's Next Top Model'', for ...

as a woman throwing away some of her possessions. After discarding her wedding ring, pearl necklace, brooch and mink coat, she decides to keep her Volkswagen Golf and drives off in it with a smile on her face. ''Changes'' was named after the song that was used as its soundtrack, written by

Alan Price Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician. He was the original keyboardist for the British band the Animals before he left to form his own band the Alan Price Set. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a m ...

. It was awarded the Silver prize at the 1988 British Arrows Awards, and is remembered as an indicator of car advertising's recognition of women's growing independence.

Sequence

A woman (Paula Hamilton) is leaving her husband. She tearfully exits her

mews A mews is a row or courtyard of stables and carriage houses with living quarters above them, built behind large city houses before motor vehicles replaced horses in the early twentieth century. Mews are usually located in desirable residential ...

house, removes her wedding ring and posts it back through the letter box. Walking away, she angrily tears off her pearl necklace, throws away her brooch, and removes her mink coat. She approaches a drain, but, as she goes to drop the keys to her Volkswagen Golf down it, she changes her mind and decides instead to keep the car. The advert ends with her driving off in the Golf with a smile on her face; its

strapline Advertising slogans are short phrases used in advertising campaigns to generate publicity and unify a company's marketing strategy. The phrases may be used to attract attention to a distinctive product feature or reinforce a company's brand. Etym ...

reads: "If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen."

Production

''Changes'' was created by the advertising agency

Boase Massimi Pollitt Boase Massimi Pollitt (BMP) was a British advertising agency which traded between 1968 and 2004 before being renamed as DDB London. It was purchased in 1989 by the US marketing services conglomerate Omnicom. Its lineage can be directly traced to ...

on behalf of

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

. It was directed by the British photographer David Bailey, who had first discovered Hamilton. For the piece, Hamilton was styled to resemble

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

. The music used was the song "Changes" by

, which also gave its title to the advert itself. Set to the tune of "

What a Friend We Have in Jesus "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" is a Christian hymn originally written by preacher Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855 to comfort his mother, who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada. Scriven originally published the poem anonymously, a ...

", the song was written by Price for his friend

Zoot Money George Bruno Money (born 17 July 1942) is an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He is best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, he was drawn ...

while he was going through a divorce.

Reception

Critical reaction to the advert was positive—it was awarded the Silver prize at the 1988 British Arrows Awards. As a result of the success of ''Changes'', Hamilton was catapulted to fame, but grew to resent only being known for it. Speaking to Matthew Wright in 1997, she remarked: "All I always seem to be known as is Paula Hamilton the alcoholic and Volkswagen girl."

Legacy

''Changes'' is remembered as an indicator of car advertising beginning to recognise women's increased independence – previous car adverts had largely only either featured women as models or depicted them as passengers. Reflecting on the advert in May 1998, Stephen Armstrong of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' named it as one of the five best advertising campaigns, and remarked that it had "spawned a new era in car advertising". In April 2000 ''Changes'' was ranked at number 42 on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's '' The 100 Greatest TV Ads'', where it was described as being "a sign that

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

had at last reached the ad men".

References

External links

Volkswagen Golf Car Commercial: Changes
at

History of Advertising Trust The History of Advertising Trust was established in 1976 to preserve and protect the heritage of UK advertising history and to offer it for research and study. It was registered as a UK charity (no. 276194) in 1978 and operates on a not-for-profit ...

{{Use dmy dates, date=August 2016 1987 in British television 1987 works British television commercials Feminist mass media Volkswagen advertising