It's not Psychedelic, it's Symbolic

Seven Awards won at Cannes Film Festival by VW’s Goodbye to the Kombi Bus, prominently featuring Dr. Bob Hieronimus and his Iconic Woodstock Bus

Hieronimus & Co. would like to thank the film crew from Spray Filmes of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who came to Owings Mills, Maryland to make this short film about Dr. Bob Hieronimus and his iconic “Woodstock Bus”. Spray Filmes was hired by Volkswagen in Brazil and the PR firm ALMA BBDO to create and present some high-class awards to a few select people around the world that they determined had the most touching stories related to the classic VW Kombi bus. At the end of this shorter video interviewing Dr. Bob about his Woodstock Bus and presenting him with the customized Kombi-shaped sketchpad and art kit, you will see the thank-you artwork that Bob made for Kombi that the film crew then took to the Woodstock Museum in Bethel, and donated to them.

This summer, these filmmakers and PR company were honored as their goodbye Kombi ad campaign received at least seven Lion Awards, including two golds, at the International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, the world’s most renowned advertising festival.

	Clockwise from above left: Dr. Bob being filmed for the VW campaign; Dr. Bob holding the model bus for the movie; Dr. Bob drawing a thank you to Kombi on the special VW bus-shaped sketchbook. See more about the presentation of the gift to Dr Bob here...

The last Kombis in the world were manufactured in Brazil until January 2014, when the regulations changed and they ceased production forever, causing many diehard fans to grow very nostalgic at the end of an era. Volkswagen launched a media campaign to bid farewell to the beloved Kombi bus as it was discontinued forever, and they collected stories from all over the world about how this van had touched and transformed people’s lives They selected their favorites for inclusion in a four-minute television commercial told from the point of view of the Kombi itself, and Dr. Bob’s Woodstock Bus memories are included.

 

 

The narrator speaking in the voice of the Kombi says “Dr. Bob is one cool dude.” This little film was six months in the making and gathers scenes from people who went through special moments with the famous Volkswagen bus, including artist/historian/designer Bob Hieronimus. Watch to see Dr. Bob as he receives a gift from this iconic car, as well as several other touching stories like the girl who was born in a Kombi, and those who have driven theirs all over the world.

Thank you for watching and saying farewell to the Kombi with us.

21st Century Radio has interviewed many prominent guests about Woodstock and the impact it had on a generation. Click here to read a summary of his radio series done in 2009 to honor the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. Listen below to some of the highlights from this series (click the names to play).

•Billy Cox: Bass player for Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. Cox was an old Army buddy of Hendrix, who played with him before his fame with the Experience, and also for the remaining months of his life after Woodstock on the Jimi Hendrix Experience tour and albums.

•Elliot Tiber: The subject of the Ang Lee-directed film “Taking Woodstock” and author of Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life

•Stan Goldstein: Woodstock’s second employee with titles ranging from Executive Headhunter, Campground Coordinator, and Director of Emergency Services. Preceded by a 30 minute interview with the authors of The Woodstock Book, Linnane Sackett and Barry Levin.

• Fred Weintraub: Warner Bros. Executive Who “Green-Lighted” the Woodstock film, followed by an interview with • Eddie Kramer: Sound Engineer in Charge of Recording the Woodstock Concert, and almost all of Jimi Hendrix career.www.eddie-kramer.com. • Followed by a brief interview with Elliot Landy on how he was hired as an official photographer for Woodstock '69 and why Bob Dylan never showed up. Woodstock Vision: The Spirit of a Generation, Backbeat Books, 2009.www.LandyVision.com

•Elliot Landy: How he was hired as an official photographer for Woodstock '69 and why Bob Dylan never showed up. Woodstock Vision: The Spirit of a Generation, Backbeat Books, 2009. www.LandyVision.com

The VW bus became a classic design icon, rich in romantic associations, symbolizing fun, freedom and adventure. Designed and Painted by Bob Hieronimus, Ph.D., “Light” the Woodstock Bus went to Woodstock 1969 and was photographed by the Associated Press, Rolling Stone and Life magazines. In the decades since then, several popular photos of this bus have been reprinted in retrospective articles, CD compilations, and other promotional pieces about Woodstock, until it has become better known as the “Woodstock Bus.” "Light" the Woodstock Bus was a Volkswagen 1963 Model Year Kombi. Painted on commission by Bob Hieronimus in 1968, it went to Woodstock without him in 1969. This site describes the exquisitely detailed, limited edition, collector's model created by Sunstar in 1/12 scale with many moving parts and attached musicians gear. Stunningly packaged with a full-color 16-page booklet on the history and symbolic interpretation of the bus.

 

See more at www.Woodstockbus.com