In early 2017, Volkswagen approached Third Story Films with a unique opportunity - they wanted us to capture the story of VW owner, Kathleen Brooks, who had driven the same vintage Beetle - “Annie” - as her only car for over 50 years. The story was simple, VW wanted to reward Kathleen’s brand loyalty by completely restoring her 1967 Beetle at its plant in Puebla Mexico. Nobody could have predicted how emotional Kathleen’s story and the resulting 7-minute film would be. “Annie The Beetle” went viral - earning over 2.1 billion media impressions online - while also winning multiple Emmy, Webby, and Shorty Awards for filmmaking. One Youtube user summed it up like this: “This is one of the most emotional things I’ve ever watched. That’s how you do marketing!”

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We agree.

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Captured in three separate shoots, over two years, this project did not have the budget of a broadcast commercial. Far from it. But we believe that the small budget is part of the reason “Annie The Beetle” succeeded. We shot the film with a tiny crew, in an intimate, documentary style that enabled Director Mike Million to establish trust with Kathleen and capture the essence of her story. It was evident almost immediately upon meeting Kathleen that she was going to be an amazing character. Million took the time to really get to know her and establish a baseline of trust that paid off over multiple on-camera interviews. As a result, “Annie the Beetle” isn’t just another customer talking about her car - it’s a poignant, compelling story about Kathleen’s journey through life. And the millions of viewers who saw the film agreed! 

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