You think your childhood was tough? You think having bread and water for dinner because Dad couldn’t scrape together enough money for meat again was a trial? Spare a thought, self-centred one, for the poor children in the new Volkswagen advert. These unfortunate souls have to be chauffeured to school by their ruinously uncool parents while being forced to listen to either beautiful classical music or what sounds like – it can’t be, surely? No parent could be this cruel! – the news. If you can die of embarrassment, these kids are in the process of doing so.
But into this atmosphere of hostility bounces the VW Tiguan, in which some phat beats are being laid down by an unlikely source: a greying father with his tiny daughter. The car is vehemently, strikingly white (not unlike its passengers) but Dead Prez’s It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop gains the immediate respect of all who gaze upon the vehicle. Yes, this girl will be fleetingly cool, but the strain of pretending to like American hip-hop artists for the street cred will soon leave her questioning the essence of her character, the very fibre of her being. Ultimately, deception will beget deception. Will she ever truly be happy? No.
