{"id":65523,"date":"2023-09-18T14:54:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T19:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.emanualonline.com\/blog\/?p=65523"},"modified":"2023-09-18T14:54:08","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T19:54:08","slug":"renault-clio-33-years-of-advertising-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.emanualonline.com\/blog\/renault-clio-33-years-of-advertising-memories","title":{"rendered":"Renault Clio, 33 Years of Advertising Memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think \u201cIt\u2019s got everything of a great car\u201d. Or \u201cPapa ? Nicole ?\u201d What car comes to mind? These lines have attracted as much of a cult following as the car they endorse, Renault<\/a> Clio. And they are not the only advertising masterstrokes. Arnaud Belloni, Renault Global Chief Marketing Officer, shares his expert insight on the most memorable campaigns and catchphrases from Clio\u2019s 33-year-long advertising history. He talks about his all-time favourites, the \u201cOh l\u2019Amour\u201d campaign on now, and a new commercial coming this December.<\/p>\n

Clio\u2019s 33-year-young advertising saga is as remarkable as the car itself \u2013 which is\u00a0France\u2019s best-selling model\u00a0(at\u00a016\u00a0million units and counting), \u201chas got everything of a great car\u201d in a very real sense, and has inspired myriad adverts and slogans since 1990. That, incidentally, is exactly when Arnaud Belloni started his career in marketing and advertising. He is now Renault\u2019s Global Chief Marketing Officer and sat down with us to talk about his 33\u00a0years of advertising memories.<\/p>\n

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“Clio has achieved iconic status on roads as much as on screens. In these past 33 years of advertising, it has attracted a huge amount of love, across five generations, and that love is still there.”
\n\u2014 Arnaud Belloni,\u00a0Renault Global Chief Marketing Officer<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\"Renault<\/h2>\n

Bizarre Beginnings<\/h2>\n

Renault Clio was an\u00a0overnight hit in\u00a01990, the press and public were unanimously wowed, and the car was looking at a bright future. But Arnaud Belloni wasn\u2019t all that enthusiastic about the first TV campaign, \u201cClio Transformers\u201d. He remembers thinking to himself,\u00a0“It’s impossible to mess up an advert for a car as important as the Clio!\u201d\u00a0In hindsight, however, the special (or rather\u00a0bizarre) effects in the film didn\u2019t hurt the city car. The film soon lapsed into oblivion and the following ones\u00a0\u201cmade up for it\u201d,\u00a0Arnaud Belloni remembers with a smile.<\/p>\n

The Cult Films from The 1990s<\/h2>\n

The 1990s adverts, in his view, include some of the best ever. He especially enjoyed the comical trilogy for the French market featuring the now illustrious catchphrase \u201cIt\u2019s got everything of a great car\u201d: the Russian episode (1992), the Chinese one (1994) and the Sicilian (\u201cGodfather\u201d) one (1995).<\/p>\n

The jury that singled out\u00a0Clio as European Car of the Year in\u00a01991\u00a0agreed that it had \u201ceverything of a great car\u201d:\u00a0\u201cThe new compact car has remarkable styling, strong quality levels, generous cabin spaces, and unprecedented equipment for a model of this size.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another offbeat punchline that Arnaud Belloni recalls is the one at the end of the Clio Baccara advert in\u00a01991: a rich emir is willing to let his son take over his wealth, honours and responsibilities, on condition he gives up his Clio because it\u2019s \u201cNot expensive enough, my son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the UK was enjoying the immensely successful and equally long-lasting \u201cPapa & Nicole\u201d saga. A whole generation of British viewers remember the many films from\u00a01991 to\u00a01998.<\/p>\n

A Sense of Humour and Smart Wording<\/h2>\n

Some advertising campaigns are so bright that they outshine the product they promote. Arnaud Belloni \u2013 and no doubt many others \u2013 remembers the 1999 film for the Clio\u00a0II MTV limited edition, which travelled much further than the car\u2019s spin-off. The main character frantically repeating the short, sharp\u00a0\u201cGet up ah\u201d,\u00a0the only bit he hears from James Brown\u2019s song\u00a0\u201cGet Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine\u201d\u00a0is tantalising \u2013 and the buzz it created was overwhelming.<\/p>\n

Arnaud Belloni sums up this first selection, spanning the nineties and noughties, thus:\u00a0\u201cMost of these films that have made a lasting impression on me have one thing in common: their sense of humour.\u201d\u00a0And we could add clever phrasing: the choice of words in the 2009 Clio III film is so perfect and pithy that Arnaud wishes he had found the slogan himself:\u00a0\u201cRenault Clio, an outward sign of inner wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Renault<\/p>\n

Stunning Imagery and Great Music<\/h2>\n

After laughs and wit, advertisers started using other arrows in their quiver for Clio IV and Clio V, starting with goosebumps. The 2019 short film in the UK, for instance, takes a strong stand: it features two young girls and their childhood pen-palling blossoming into an adult love story over the years and over five Clio generations, with a cover of Oasis\u2019 planetary hit\u00a0\u201cWonderwall\u201d\u00a0in the background.<\/p>\n

The 2022 commercial is a dazzling dive into retro 1990s and 2000s vibes. The cartoony effect and \u201cVideo Killed The Radio Star\u201d\u00a0soundtrack thrilled Arnaud Belloni. The message is that old-timers are now young-timers and Clio is a late-20th-century icon.<\/p>\n

Arnaud Belloni wraps up his choice of Clio adverts with the brand\u2019s latest campaign.\u00a0\u201cThe energy is changing, but the love is still there,\u201d\u00a0he says about the commercial powered by a remix of the 1980s smash hit\u00a0\u201cOh l\u2019Amour\u201d.\u00a0In his words, the advert is extremely\u00a0\u201cfashionable\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cpremium\u201d\u00a0\u2013 so perfect for the latest Clio, which features a\u00a0new E-Tech full hybrid powertrain.<\/p>\n