This morning, the readers of the Times of India (print edition) newspaper were in for a pleasant surprise.

The newspaper carried an advertisement for Volkswagen on the last page that looked like a regular print ad but with a difference. As soon as people turned to the last page of the newspaper, the ad would start talking by itself.

Volkswagen Audio Ad in Times of India

The magic lies in a small speaker that activates itself when you open the last page of the newspaper. Suhel Banerjee, who captured a video of this ad, says that the audio clip goes on to play in an endless loop till you close the paper.

Reading the online reactions, most people seem to have been left impressed by Volkswagen’s marketing though the ad did create some confusion at one of the airports as Lakshmipathy Bhat points out:

That Volkswagen ad with audio chip caused a minor scare among the trolley crew in Bangalore Airport. Unclaimed paper with noise - staff were nervy.

Here’s a second video of the same Volkswagen audio ad that appeared in the Mumbai edition of Times of India. This clip was captured by Lionel Faleiro.

Update: Here’s a picture of the audio chip that’s fitted inside the newspaper [via]