The world of automotive advertising is a tough one, with incredibly strict regulations depending on the market and a very challenging audience. No wonder most car adverts, whether they’re in print, in public or on TV, are largely bland and forgettable.
But that’s not to say it’s always the case. In fact, some car adverts are nothing short of brilliant, sticking in the public’s memory for decades after broadcast.
Here are some of the best…
- Honda Accord – ‘Cog’
Honda’s ‘Cog’ is an icon of automotive advertising and there’s no way it couldn’t have topped this list. It takes the form of a massive Rube Goldberg-style chain reaction machine made entirely from parts of the Honda Accord.
Cog’s beauty is in its simplicity, remaining totally free of branding until the last few moments. That’s not to say it was simple to make – it took 606 takes to create, a result of the team’s reluctance to use any CGI. The result is the most critically acclaimed television advert in history.
- Jaguar – ‘Rendezvous’
It’s hard not to feel a little patriotic at times, and watching this advert is certainly sure to inspire terrifying levels of pride in any Brit. It stars Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong in another brilliant Superbowl spot – this time, playing off the movie industry’s propensity to cast Brits as the bad guys. The three actors are perfect in these roles, and Kingsley finishes the whole lot with the fantastic line – ‘It’s good to be bad’.
- Mercedes-Benz – ‘Welcome’
Many car manufacturers are proud of their history, and justifiably so – but Mercedes has rather more bragging rights than most, being directly descended from the company that invented the internal combustion automobile.
This advert, produced for the 2011 Superbowl, shows off 125 years of Mercedes history making its way to welcome the latest additions to the brand. It’s a brilliant advert, set to the soundtrack of that iconic song – Janis Joplin’s ‘Mercedes-Benz’.
- Audi R8 – engine
Some adverts pack as much information as possible into a minute-long TV slot with the hope of holding the viewer’s attention, but this can often do the opposite.
Audi decided to take a different approach in 2013 and created one of its most iconic advertisements. This advert featured nothing more than a shot of its halo R8 supercar revving its exposed and glorious V10 engine, and it sticks in the minds of many to this day.
- Skoda Fabia ‘Cake’
This Skoda advert is another example of production going above and beyond what’s necessary. A team of eight bakers spent over a week moulding a Skoda Fabia from all kinds of ‘lovely stuff’ – including rice krispie treats for the body panels, jelly for the rear lights, and a cake engine complete with liquorice fan belt and filled with golden syrup ‘oil’.
Set to the immortal soundtrack of ‘My Favourite Things’ from the Sound of Music, it’s an instantly recognisable advert and certainly bought the otherwise relatively unknown Fabia into a new light.
- Volkswagen ‘The Man’
This advert shows the world’s most unlucky man – the one who moved into gold, just as the clever money moved out, and who put a million on black only for it to come up red. Despite his bad luck, he still has ‘something to rely on’ – his Golf GTi.
The tone of the ad is perfect – it’s another of those brilliant creations where you’re not quite sure what it’s advertising until the very end. Even the way the narrator pauses before saying ‘… a Volkswagen’ is perfectly calculated.
- Citroen CX – Grace Jones
Citroen’s never done things the ordinary way, and neither has Grace Jones. So why not bring the two together in a spot for the firm’s quirky and innovative flagship, the CX? Attempting to explain this ad is perhaps beyond the abilities of anyone but Citroen’s own marketing department, but it contains a CX GTI, a desert and a massive model of Jones’ head. Simple. And certainly instantly recognisable.
- Peugeot 205 GTi vs plane
If you want to show off the handling prowess of your hot hatchback, why not do it on a rally stage in a frozen wasteland? And why not spice the action up by having it chased by a massive military plane? That’s the route Peugeot took with this classic 205 GTI ad, displaying the car’s pinpoint handling skills as it dodged planes, bombs, and even a helicopter.
The ad comes to a climax as the 205 drives down a massive ski jump and flies through the air, an iconic shot that’s arguably yet to be bettered in the world of automotive advertising.
