When Volkswagen launched the VW Fox it chose Copenhagen because it is young, hip and vibrant, like the car and its target audience. To match the young target audience – the car sells for less than €9,000 in Germany – VW made a partnership with a 3-star hotel, renamed it Hotel Fox and brought in 21 student designers from across Europe, all untried in hotel design, to create the interior of the property.

The message was: people make their cars individual and individuality was the trade mark of the hotel. The launch took place over three weeks and guests stayed at Hotel Fox.
Not only was there a legacy in the decoration of the rooms but the property also agreed with VW that it would maintain a level of pricing for two years so that young people could afford to stay there.

Journalists arrived at Copenhagen airport and had the opportunity to test drive the Fox before being given lunch at Club Fox, a disused warehouse in Copenhagen docks. During the meal, the artists, who had decorated the hotel, painted white Foxes; when Spanish journalists were having lunch, there were Spanish artists painting the cars. In the evening, catering school apprentices created interesting cuisine to underpin the messages of the car and seating was designed around three open kitchens. In addition, Studio Fox displayed cars that were created by students from universities across the world, including Brazil and the UK.

Says spokesman for Volkswagen Paul Buckett: “We did not solely invite motoring journalists, who only go to drive the cars, but also travel media, who might be interested in the hotel project; and art and lifestyle media, who were otherwise not interested in cars. It was an unusual event and a success and the European press enjoyed going to Copenhagen”.