You think Volkswagen is interested in generating buzz in the next generation Beetle? The automaker teased (and gave away) The People's Car on Oprah in the fall, Followed by a pricey but clever Super Bowl commercial back in February. We heard a couple weeks back that VW planned to follow up on the considerable Beetle buzz with an unveil in Shanghai, but that's only part of the story.

Volkswagen has announced that it will unveil the 2012 Beetle on April 18 in a whirlwind tour of three continents. The kickoff will occur in China, followed by reveals in Berlin and New York City. The entire event will be covered by MTV, with special guests planned for each event. Here in the States, the event will be headlined by The Black Eyed Peas while the Germans will kick it with Belgian duo 2manydjs.

Luca de Meo, Director of Marketing, Volkswagen Group, touts the marketing partnership of Beetle and MTV as a pair of icons working together. The marketing boss believes that the 2012 Beetle's "one-of-a-kind styling combined with the latest technology will be very well received by customers."

Stay tuned to Autoblog as we gather the latest 2012 Beetle intelligence in advance of the bulbous hatchback's global reveal, and feel free to peruse our spy photo gallery of the prototype Beetle below, then hit the jump to look over VW's official press release.


Gallery: 2012 Volkswagen New Beetle: Spy Shots




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