The real cheetah behind the Volkswagen ad

Some advertising concepts are born in boardrooms, but the iconic 2009 film for the Volkswagen Golf 6 began on a game farm in Namibia, inspired by a woman’s extraordinary kindness and a three-legged cheetah’s resilience.

The project, developed by Ogilvy Cape Town, would become a global sensation, lauded not for slick special effects, but for its raw and powerful authenticity. At its heart was Marlice van Vuuren, who rehabilitates wild animals, including cheetahs, at her sanctuary near Windhoek.

The script’s central, poignant image, a rehabilitated cheetah leaning out of a moving vehicle, was not a fictional creation. It was a direct reflection of van Vuuren’s daily reality, where she was known to drive around her farm with a three-legged cheetah companion riding shotgun in her bakkie.

This truth resonated deeply with Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director Henry-Alex Rubin. He described the script as a rare and inspired idea.

Henry: “Its message of kindness and resilience resonates. It's one of those few-in-a-lifetime ideas that will grow wings and fly around the world. I truly wanted to help give it wings”.