Simple but strong cardboard boxes with a simple plastic roller-frame and a simple grip at the top. You can see umpteen trade-fair visitors dragging them around. Obviously hundreds of these things are handed out during the open days at the trade-fair.

The most important thing is, that they are also accepted. To achieve this, the advertising companies must be aware of the main problem that trade-fair visitors have, the multitude of pamphlets, which one would like to examine in peace at home. Unfortunately, most of the reading matter is collected right at the beginning of the visit.

Not that the 'trolleys' are without problems. Should the flooring be grooved, then their little wheels sometimes get stuck in the ruts, possibly causing the person behind you to stumble over them. What on earth were they thinking about?

'A great deal', this, one simply has to admit, then these types of Give Aways mostly only cost a few cents or Euros and are astonishingly effective. The fact that we're writing this article proves the point, this page originated six months after the 'Automechanika'.

As usual, VW took the cake again!, and that, of all places, in Paris, they distributed their advertising packages right under the nose of the French Lion! One of them can be seen in the above picture, drawing the attention a little from the wonderfully presented Fiat.

An even greater stroke of genius, was to occupy the category of 'motor car' creating the impression that there can only be one. Even though Peugeot picked up the points with it's beautiful wing, which was designed extra for the fair, the status was established and the ad-bags did their rounds.

For my part, I was annoyed by the amount of rubbish or waste, considering that the ad-trolleys only last untill one gets back home. If all goes well, paper and plastics are then seperated before landing in the bins, and that takes care of that. Indeed, the seeds have been successfully sown, 'Mann-Filter' and 'Das Auto'-Golf, are still fresh in my memory!