Volkswagen Launches Commercial to Say Goodbye to Its Iconic Beetle

After seven decades, Volkswagen’s Beetle has come to its end.

The company’s iconic car has been discontinued and the German automaker has launched a new campaign called “The Last Mile” to say goodbye to it.

The commercial launched the day before New Year’s and includes an animated film scored with a cover of The Beatles’ “Let It Be” from the Pro Musica Youth Chorus children’s choir and out-of-home digital billboards in Times Square in New York.

The video includes animated cameos from Andy Warhol to Kevin Bacon and ends with the car taking flight as a bug with the words “Where one road ends, another begins.”

The 90 second ad was created with ad agency Johannes Leonardo and appeared on ABC and CNN on Tuesday night. More placements were done during the Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl games on New Year’s Day.

Volkswagen has said it would build a new electric vehicle at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant as it shifts toward zero emission vehicles.

“This animated film pays homage to the imprint this car has made as we make way for an exciting future of electric mobility for the masses,” Johannes Leonardo Chief Creative Officer Leo Premutico wrote in an email to CNBC.

He added, “When creating the campaign, it was very intentional that we didn’t put any one person or moment on a pedestal. The Volkswagen Beetle was the great equalizer for society and culture at large. This isn’t one person’s goodbye or a company’s, it’s everyone’s goodbye.”