- by Trish Whelan
'Battered Peugeot' ad Britain's most popular
12 February 2003: Peugeot’s current television advertisement for the 206 has finished in first place in an on-line poll run by the BBC Radio 4 programme ‘You and Yours’, to find ‘The Nation’s Favourite Ads’.
The advertisement beat all other entries from a final shortlist of five well-known commercials of all time, voted by listeners to Radio 4. It received 37% of all votes, with Famous Grouse finishing in second place with 32%, and the “Smash” aliens ad finishing in third place with 12%.
The ‘Sculptor’ advertisement was used widely in cinemas nationwide in Ireland in the third quarter of 2002 and on the new television channel, E4, and continues to be shown in regional cinemas.
Share-of-voice figures issued by Carlton Screen Advertising, show that Peugeot was the third biggest advertiser in cinema amongst motor distributors in Ireland in 2002, behind Fiat and Nissan.
Instead of showing beautiful scenery and driving shots, the commercial focuses on a car from the 1950s that gets ‘re-designed’. With the help of an elephant sitting on its bonnet, the ancient car is turned into a 206 look-alike by a young man who dreams of owning one and impressing the girls. The feel-good factor at the end of the film reinforces the message that the 206 is the car to be seen in.
The film was shot in India and involved a casting session of 100 elephants to find the right one to play the starring role. The music also had to be especially composed to reflect a contemporary Indian feel.
©2003 irishcar.com