Most promotions dangle a carrot.

Volkswagen’s, instead, brandishes a stick — the PunchDub game.

Painfully, you may remember “Slug Bug” or “Punch Buggy” — games wherein the first person to spot a VW Beetle slugs his or her companion.

“Punch Dub is a fun, engaging way to reintroduce Volkswagen and its growing product family to millions of Americans,” says Tim Ellis, Vice President of Marketing, Volkswagen of America.

Sure. As long as you know your models. Otherwise, you’ll be ducking for cover every time a car passes.

Therein lies the premise and hope of this campaign.

At an expo I recently attended, a Volkswagen display banner read, “Sharpen your VW spotting skills. Play PunchDub with all 13 Volkswagen models.” Silhouettes were provided to aid memorization.

In this way, informed PunchDub players act much like members of the Royal Observer Corps during the Battle of Britain, identifying enemy aircraft and alerting air-raid warning systems. Spot the VW first and avoid a beating.

The introductory spot features Stevie Wonder, Tracy Morgan and plenty of slapstick, but funnier is the video of Sluggy Patterson, the purported inventor of the game. (Okay, he’s an actor.) His make-up-the-rules-as-you-go delivery brings back memories of the playground.