Ever since its emergence onto the mass market over a century ago, the car has been a constant on the street of the world. From commercial vehicles to the epitome of luxury, cars still have the power to turn heads and, as electric-powered cars slowly enter the mainstream, are on the precipice on popularizing a an environmental revolution. Today at right.video, we wanted to take a look under the hood and look at the commercial history of automobile advertising and see how the industry has changed over the last thirty years as the industrial giants of Detroit fell to European and Japanese carmakers. We think, as you’ll soon discover, that not only do these ads rely on the romance of the open road, but the power of brand naming and style.
Director: David Bailey
Production Company: Paul Weiland Film Co Ltd.
Agency: Boase Massimi Pollitt
The first advert on this list comes from Volkswagen’s UK division, designed to spotlight the second generation of its Golf series. Focused on reaching out to the female demographic, Volkswagen depicted a woman leaving her husband and tossing away many of her possessions to no longer be reminded of him. It’s only when she’s about to toss her Golf keys that she decides to keep the car, driving off with her future ahead of her. Both Volkswagen and Boase won praise for the advert’s recognition of women’s independence in car advertising, ultimately winning the 1988 British Arrows Silver award.
Director: Various (Example given: John Frankenheimer)
Production Company: Anonymous Content
Agency: Fallon
Still perhaps the epitome of car advertising, BMW’s The Hire series of shorts were pure, distilled action cinema that just so happened to feature their cars as the star of the show. With Clive Owen as the Driver, BMW brought on a who’s who of world-renowned directors to create the campaign, ultimately inspiring Luc Besson’s well-remembered Transporter series. We previously highlighted Guy Ritchie’s contribution as part of our best celebrity ads article. For best cars adverts, we wanted to feature the first Hire short, “Ambush”, directed by legendary Ronin director John Frankenheimer.
Director: Antoine Bardou-Jacquet
Production Company: Partizan Midi-Minuit
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy
Honda had long been a well-respected Japanese auto manufacturer but, by the early 2000s, was seen as a fairly conventional and stale automaker. To truly shake up this image, the company tapped Wieden+Kennedy to create “The Cog” advert for the UK market. With its Rube Goldberg-esque trick photography featuring nothing but Honda auto parts, the advert also highlighted the features of its then-new Accord Sport Wagon. It was a brilliant way of showing a fun playfulness while keeping up Honda’s track record for reliability.
Director: NE-O
Production Company: Stink + The Moving Picture Company
Agency: DDB London
Films repurposed for adverts were nothing new in 2005, but this is perhaps the most extreme variation of the concept. Taking the classic musical Singin’ in the Rain and reimagining its title song as a club-mix, it was a wild and entertaining riff on VW’s slogan “The original, reimagined”. Featuring artist Mint Royale’s remix, it was a bold remake of one of Hollywood’s most beloved sequences that created a curious “What if?” scenario. I mean, where else are you going to find a resurrected Gene Kelly breakdancing and rapping in the rain?
Director: Antoine Bardou-Jacquet
Production Company: Partizan London
Agency: J. Walter Thompson London
This is somewhat of a cheat, as this is more of a Shell advert than it is a Ferrari one. However, with the focus set purely on the Italian car maker’s legendary line of F1 racing cars, it’s safe to say that no one’s going to complain if it guarantees a moment to talk about Ferraris. From the lush Italian countryside to
the seaside of Monaco, “Circuit” is a celebration of a decades long collaboration between the gasoline giant and one of Europe’s most luxurious auto manufacturers.
Director: Chris Palmer
Production Company: Gorgeous Enterprises
Agency: Fallon London
Skoda doesn’t quite come to mind when it comes to discussing car manufacturers, but it did create quite a sensation in 2007 with this advert. Made to highlight the Fabia, “Cake” was, on face-value, a simple idea of raising awareness of the Skoda’s useful features by way of cakemaking. With the advert culminating in the realization of a real car-sized cake, the campaign received widespread critical acclaim in the UK with its addition of “My Favorite Things” underscoring the work. “Cake” would receive several industry awards, culminating with a Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.
Director: Ivan Zacharias
Production Company: Smuggler
Agency: Venables Bell & Partners
Remember when we mentioned how BMW’s The Driver campaign inspired the Transporter franchise? Well, think of this advert as that happenstance coming full circle, with Transporter star Jason Statham taking point in a campaign that runs the gauntlet of car chase history. Starting with a nod to 70s action
film The French Connection all the way to The Transporter itself, “The Chase” is a loving tribute to the legacy of the cinematic car chase. It’s a brilliant nod to the development of this action staple while also showing off the progress of the Audi vehicle.
Director: Lance Acord
Production Company: Lucasfilm
Agency: Donny Deutsch Advertising
If there’s been one car advert that’s made a splash in recent years, than its no doubt Volkswagen’s return to Super Bowl advertising from 2011. Tapping into pop culture’s love affair with the Star Wars franchise, we find a little ‘Darth Vader’ trying in vain to tap into the mystical Force. Masterminded by Donny Deutsch Advertising, the advert’s simple production featured no dialogue and was accompanied by John Williams’ legendary ‘Imperial March’ score. We were all like ‘Little Vader’ once and it’s this sense of wonder that have made this advert a modern classic.
Director: Samuel Bayer
Production Company: Serial Pictures
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy
The Volkswagen advert that premiered alongside this one at Super Bowl XLV may have taken the lion’s share of the buzz, but Chrysler’s offering was noteworthy in its own right. With the first advert appearance by rapper Eminem and underscored by his famous “Lose Yourself”, “Born of Fire” was a love letter to Detroit. It showed off both the city’s role as the industrial heartland of the American car and as a symbol of resilience after immense economic turmoil. Down but never out, it was an invocation of a city’s awaiting rebirth and a promise of European luxury American-style.
Director: Tom Hooper
Production Company: Smuggler Films
Agency: Spark 44
Jaguar leapt back into the pop culture sphere thanks to the “British Villains” campaign, taking advantage of its roots and celebrating its home country’s penchant for its actors being cast as famous movie villains. Uniting Mark Strong, Tom Hiddleston, and Sir Ben Kingsley, the “Rendezvous” advert showcased the mystique of the classic British baddie with high-class Jaguar cars. With director Tom Hooper at the helm, you had an advert that exemplified the cool typical of classic villains.
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We hope that this has been quite the road trip through the automotive advertising world with us at right.video. As always, we have these ads and numerous others with just a quick search away on our search engine. Whether you’re into luxury sportscars or just want to highlight a normal, everyday car, rest assured that you’ll find your favorite car advert with just a few clicks.
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