The 10 Best Car Ads Ever
Car brands spend a lot of money on advertising. Around $40 billion globally.
Luckily for us, some of this ends up producing great ads.
As in any category, the best work blends the brand’s attributes with an emotional punchline that grabs the audience's attention.
The following examples meet this brief with elegance. So fire up your engines and strap yourself in.
1. VW’s ‘The Force’
The Super Bowl generally produces some standout ads each year. In 2011, the agency Deutsch knocked it out of the park with its ‘The Force’ spot for the VW Passat.
A cute kid wearing a Darth Vader costume. What more do you need?
2. Nissan 300ZX ‘Dreamer’
This ad was made way back in 1990 to promote Nissan’s fastest model, hence the less-than-stellar resolution.
If it has the filmic quality of a Hollywood blockbuster, that’s no surprise as it was directed by none other than Ridley Scott, who is the same guy behind the movies Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, and Gladiator.
The commercial aired just once during Super Bowl XXIV in 1990 due to pressure from various interest groups, including the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, who thought it glorified speeding.
By the way, Scott also directed the iconic Apple ‘1984’ ad and Hovis Bread’s ‘Boy on a Bike’ ad, which was voted Britain’s favourite ad.
Quite the CV.
3. Porsche 911 ‘997 Carrera’
Apologies again for the poor quality. We couldn’t find a better version.
Still, it’s good enough to understand the brilliant storytelling, as its 1.6 million YouTube views attest.
If you’re a car guy, you can recognise yourself in the young boy. In 2027, it’ll be twenty years since this boy set eyes on the 911 in this ad.
C’mon Porsche. Let’s see a remake of this ad with the same child actor now as a grown man with his own 911.
4. BMW M5 ‘Landspeed’
Again, the quality isn’t top-notch because it’s from 2001, but that doesn’t matter because it's so damn brilliant.
It has probably one of the best rug pulls ever.
If it didn’t make you want an E39 BMW M5, we don’t know what could. It's close to perfection.
5. Honda ‘Cog’
There are so many obvious ways to demonstrate engineering prowess.
Wieden + Kennedy decided to take a different route, and the result is not just a fantastic car ad but a standout piece of work overall. The preparation and precision were extraordinary but worth it for the result.
While we’re on the topic, Honda’s ‘Grrr’ ad from 2005 was also brilliant and helped change the perception of diesel engines.
6. Audi R8 and Airbnb 'Desolation'
This collaboration between Audi and Airbnb is fun and cleverly manages to say relevant things about each brand in the same advert.
And doesn’t that R8 sound amazing?
Whilst we’re discussing Audi, this classic Audi ad is a masterclass in a simple idea that is well executed.
7. Mercedes-Benz ‘Chicken’
Back in 2013, Mercedes-Benz launched a new feature called Magic Body Control. It was designed to keep the car stable and ensure optimum driving comfort.
They could have shown the car travelling serenely over bumpy and broken tarmac to demonstrate the groundbreaking technology, but instead, they chose a chicken.
You’ll never look at this flightless bird in the same way again.
8. BMW ‘The Hire’ Series
BMW revolutionised the advertising world with a series of eight short films directed by top-notch filmmakers like Guy Ritchie, John Frankenheimer, Tony Scott and Ang Lee.
Starring Clive Owen as ‘The Driver, each film showcased the performance and design of BMW cars in thrilling storylines.
The original ‘branded content’.
9. Mercedes-Benz ‘Bertha Benz: The Journey That Changed Everything’
When people relied on horses to pull their wagons, the first cars must have seemed like they were from another planet.
To demonstrate her husband’s invention was the future of mobility, Bertha Benz embarked on the first long-distance journey by car, facing all kinds of challenges but stopping at nothing.
The rest, as they say, is history.
10. VW ‘Buying a Volkswagen from an Old Lady’
VW know a thing or two about making good ads. And they’ve been consistent over many years.
This Dutch one from 2010 is a particular favourite. It’s unexpected and humourous, yet it still frames the VW Golf as a reliable car.
For non-native speakers, the strapline translates as ‘Not every old lady is trustworthy – luckily every Golf is’.
So good they made a new version continuing the story…
Do you agree with the above list? What other ads should have been in contention?
