The car company announces its new brand philosophy with this spot.
It takes Škoda Auto 60 seconds to show us the life of a girl and the story of a generation and, while at it, it zips past automobile ad tropes.
Made by Wunderman Thompson, the ad is the story of a girl whose father has gifted her a Škoda Kushaq car, presumably for her 18th birthday.
Time passes by and we see her experience different aspects of life, be it networking to get her first job, learning on the job, starting her company and even meeting her life partner. The car is always with her. It does not make any noise, but makes its presence felt nonetheless.
The entire ad is a slice-of-life montage, one you’d want to live yourself, including the bit where she finds a puppy resting under her car. She adopts the pup immediately.
Unlike classic auto ads filled with talks of mileage, driving past empty lanes in cities, etc., this one is quite different.
Most importantly, she is behind the wheel. The last time we saw this was in a Mahindra Thar ad from The Womb in 2022.
“Škoda is a legacy brand in India and was one the first brands to give Indians a taste of European luxury. Over the last two decades, the brand has established a niche for itself as a premium car brand for people who are inherently curious and love to explore possibilities. Škoda’s well-built cars with second-to-none drivability and this spirit of encouraging exploration, gave birth to the new positioning ‘Let’s explore’,” says Anurag Tandon, managing partner, Wunderman Thompson Mumbai, in a press release.
Petr Šolc, brand director, Škoda Auto India, added, “The automotive sphere in India and the world is going through a massive transformation. Our brand has always had a human touch and customer orientation as an integral part of our DNA. This enables us to understand the ever-evolving needs and meet the aspirations of our customers. ‘Make every KM count’ reflects this spirit of our cars and customers, who equate numbers in the odometers not as kilometres, but as clocking of journeys and experiences.”
Wunderman Thompson’s note read, “'Make every KM Count' conceptualised by Wunderman Thompson India. This development is part of the company’s larger brand strategy that began in 2022 with the unveiling of the Vision 7S design study and the announcement of the new logo. The transformation was to encapsulate the transition into a rapidly changing world, and customer aspirations ably captured in the new logo and lettering.”
Team credits:
Agency: Wunderman Thompson India
Project head: Anurag Tandon, managing partner, Wunderman Thompson Mumbai
Creative:
Steven Mathias, Priya Pardiwalla: ECDS & VPS
Manash Parui: Senior creative director
Arjun Chandravanshi: CD
Yugant Gosavi: Art director
Anvi Jadhav: Art director
Account management:
Rakesh Varma: VP & EBD
Anuj Uppal: Senior account director
Reiaa Pillai: Account manager