Good Car Commercials Aren't Really About Cars Anymore

As a director, I've always found most car commercials very boring, with a format featuring a 'car on a winding and deserted road.' But then, I had the opportunity to work on a beautiful project for Ferrari.

Enzo Ferrari received hundreds and thousands of letters from passionate children all over the world, asking him questions or making requests. He replied to all of them, but some dreams remained unfulfilled. In the project I directed, we told the touching story of those dreams left unfulfilled for decades, making those desires that spanned generations a reality.

It was this project that sparked my passion for a different approach in the automotive advertising world: entertainment.

Today, the latest commercials are telling stories about cars; they're giving them personality traits, or placing them in everyday situations with a little twist.

For me, now more than ever, commercials aren't just about vehicles. They're about connecting on a deeper level, and that's what resonates with audiences.

The car is a dream, a desire, lasting for millennia. It's half a flying carpet and half a home. It's the magical object that gives us the freedom to go anywhere we want in an instant, offering protection, shelter, and a space that moves with us. It's freedom.

They are stories of love and passion, and the various phases of our lives, feelings that people can relate to in one way or another. Love. Happiness. Longevity. Reliability. Connection.

We're watching more, but we're watching things that interest us, and brands are adapting to this change.

So, I've compiled a playlist with some of my favorite car commercials, you can watch it here!

I find them greatly inspiring, exciting, funny, or dreamy.

Behind this change is the biggest disruption in the automotive sector, probably since automotive even became a sector.

Sales are dropping, there’s a global economic downturn on the horizon, and there’s a rash of new EV start-ups from Tesla to the 20 new Chinese brands you haven’t heard of yet. It’s a perfect storm for automotive companies.

Ownership is increasingly less important, and into that gap is the new (and growing) sharing economy, offering a series of mobility services that are changing the way we move.

Into the mix, let’s add the global imperative for more sustainable and responsible behavior from all brands.

The UK advertising watchdog has banned two Toyota adverts for condoning driving that disregards its environmental impact in a landmark ruling, stating that the SUV ads had been created without “a sense of responsibility to society”.

These adverts embody a total disregard for nature and the climate, featuring enormous, highly polluting vehicles driving at speed through rivers and wild grasslands. It is the first time the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has blocked an SUV advert on the grounds of breaching social responsibility in an environmental context.
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French automakers will be required to include messages on car advertisements that encourage viewers to seek more environmentally friendly travel alternatives.

They will be able to choose between three messages: “Consider carpooling,” “For short trips, opt for walking or cycling," or “Use public transportation for everyday trips.”

There is a disconnect between the way SUVs are advertised – with campaigns often depicting them in rugged environments – and the reality of where they are largely driven.

Three-quarters of new SUVs are registered to people in urban areas. It’s a cynical use of nature to promote something incredibly nature-damaging.

Environmental groups are calling for the governments to “stop high-carbon advertising at source” with a tobacco-style ban.

And if you follow the narrative of mainstream automotive advertising, men remain firmly in the driving seat.

Car marques aren’t interested in female consumers. From traditional magazines designed for an audience that no longer exists to advertising that routinely treats women as a bit part at best.

This failure to connect with half of their target market comes as car marques face significant structural challenges.

Huge changes are coming in the next decade, and it’ll take all of this time to resolve issues of mobility, electrification, as well as the marketing and collateral needed to define and shape brands’ future offerings.

New and old brands will have to use creativity and continue to evolve this type of narrative, but the real challenge for the entire industry will be to define a new imagery that refers to contemporary values.

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