POSITIVE thinking – that’s what the makers of a TV ad showed when they turned to a Europe’s biggest trailer maker for help.
And Universal Trailers, main distributors for Ifor Williams Trailers in Sussex, came up with just the right answer to complement the latest model of the VW Passat.
In the ad, a City dealer is shown ignoring all the signs of the economic downturn – empty offices and job losses – as he cheerfully strolls and sings his way through the day.
To the words of the song Positive Thinking he gets into his Passat and happily drives away. As he does so he overtakes a trailer carrying sheep to slaughter – and even they are happy!
Andrew Reece-Jones, the design engineering manager at Ifor Williams Trailers, said: "We have trailers for every conceivable purpose but I must confess we didn’t anticipate this one.
"We do get some unusual requests at times, but nothing which is seen by as many people as the VW ad."
Director Mark Betts said he was approached by a film supplies company based in nearby Redhill, who gave an outline of the type they had in mind.
"At that time I only had a used model of that kind available, and they said that would be absolutely fine," he said.
The trailer was required without delay but because the film-makers wanted to show the sheep sticking their heads out the side panel had to be modified by Universal Trailers, lowering the gap."
The ad, which was filmed in the Canary Wharf area of London, is showing on TV, cinemas and YouTube.
News » Ifor Williams trailer stars in TV advert for Volkswagen Passat