Mercedes-Benz: ‘Chicken’
A toast to the ad creative who was mad enough to stand in front of a room of Merc execs and pitch an ad involving a chicken, Diana Ross and absolutely no car. Jaguar’s retaliatory parody ad (in which the chicken gets eaten by a big cat) is worthy of mention here, but it’s not a patch on the original.
Audi: ‘Birth’
There are many ways an ad can stick in your mind. This one unconventionally achieves it by being deeply unsettling. We had to rewatch it, so now you do too.
Skoda: ‘Cake’
Absolutely no food telly tricks were employed in the creation of this 1:1 Fabia sponge: eight bakers created the entire thing from edible foodstuff with no practice run, and in the ad you genuinely see them doing so—those aren’t actors reassembling it for effect. So chaotic and drawn out was the process that by the time it was finished, the cake had already gone off. Nothing hurts us quite as much as dessert wastage, but it’s a wonderful ad nonetheless.
BMW M5: ‘Landspeed car’
So iconic. The big reveal, followed by the “fastest saloon on the planet” slogan, has to be one of the heaviest mic drops in advertising history. One of the coolest ever car ads, for one of the coolest ever cars.
Fiat: ‘Operation no gray’
Have you ever looked up Fiat CEO, Olivier Francois, on social media? You really ought to—his output is extraordinary. Very few cars, many highly improbable celeb selfies. His frequent pictures with Shaggy are always enjoyable, but his snap with both Pharrell and the Pope is a special example of the oeuvre. Anyway, what we’re trying to say is, he’s a colourful character. So it seems only right that he starred in Fiat’s campaign celebrating the decision to retire grey from the selection of available paint colours on its cars.
Steven McQueen x Puma
The whole “insert your product into an old iconic film scene” schtick feels hacky these days, but this was one of the first examples of it—and in fairness, it’s beautifully executed. We can’t help but think car lover and man’s man, Steve McQueen, would’ve rather liked the Puma, what with its engaging handling and regular opportunities to practice your welding.
Audi R8 V10 noise
No overthinking was done here. The ad agency clearly (and correctly) concluded that nothing they might come up with could possibly be as captivating as the raw sound of the Audi R8’s new V10—so they simply let it do all the talking. Best of all, this one played exclusively at movie theatres, with the full surround sound experience.
Bottas x Uber
The memeification of F1 has been a joy to behold in recent years—with driver age plummeting, the historically self-important sport has come over all silly in the TikTok era. But the elder statesmen aren’t above silly goosery either, as demonstrated by this masterpiece of a performance from multiple constructors' championship winner and mullet enthusiast, Valtteri Bottas.
Honda: ‘Impossible dream’
In a golden age of Honda engineering, this ad showcased the staggering breadth of vehicles contained in the brand’s portfolio in a gorgeous (even, dare we say, moving?) sequence. Minus points for the absence of the Mk2 Jazz and ride-on mowers.
Volkswagen: ‘Casino’
Another reminder of why Volkswagen is regarded as the maestro. The Mk2 GTI’s iconic Casino ad was part of a series that riffed on the absolute dependability of the VW Golf, even when all else in life is falling apa-hang on, did they just refer to his wife as a “sex kitten?”
Volvo Trucks: ‘The epic split’
Nope, it’s not CGI. That really, actually is Jean-Claude Van Damme straddling two reversing Volvo lorries. In a box split. To Enya. It can barely be described as an advert—the exact point of it is so unclear that it has to actually be explained in writing at the end—it’s simply a strange, wonderful little piece of art designed to create a viral moment. 126 million views later, we’d say it succeeded.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
