Fahrvergnügen
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Fahrvergnügen was an advertising slogan used by Volkswagen in a 1989 U.S. ad campaign that included a stick figure apparently enjoying a drive. The simple style of the ads was widely parodied. The term means "driving enjoyment" in German (from fahren, "to drive", and Vergnügen, enjoyment), although this was rarely explained.
The slogan was adapted into a somewhat surreal radio jingle, in which a female voice identified as "Helga" crooned:
- Fahr. Verg! Gnü. Gen.
- Say the word!
"Helga", who had no spoken lines in the commercial, was nonetheless spoken to by the spokesman, in an odd case of breaking the fourth wall within a 30 second radio spot. This was made doubly confusing by the fact that the word Fahrvergnügen was never explained during the campaign.