If someone listens to “Young Although Well Prepared” or “Gueropa”, it is very likely that a smile will appear on their face while remembering a very special car. And these advertising campaigns have become as cult as the model they refer to, Renault Clio. Now, the brand remembers the most memorable ads and slogans from Clio’s 33-year advertising career, including the current “Oh l’amour.” It also previews some details of its next campaign, which will arrive before the end of the year.
With a rich 33-year history, the Clio’s advertising saga is as notable as the career of this iconic model, with more than 1 million units sold in Spain and more than 16 million worldwide, it is the best-selling French model. of the world. The “Young Yet Well-Prepared” city car has been a fruitful source of inspiration for advertisers, with so many memorable campaigns and slogans written about it since its debut in 1990.
« Clio is a model that has become an icon, both on the road and on the screen. In 33 years of advertising, it is a car that has garnered enormous love across five generations. And that love is still with us today. »
Arnaud Belloni, Renault Global Marketing Director
A beginning that went unnoticed
Renault Clio was a success since its launch in 1990, achieving a unanimous response from the public and the press. In fact, in 1991 it was chosen as Best Car of the Year in Spain and Car of the Year in Europe. In the words of the European jury: ” Clio has great style, a good level of quality, generous space and a wealth of equipment never before offered in a model of this size .”
However, although the initial reception of Clio was magnificent, its first television campaign was not particularly remembered. The spot used somewhat exaggerated special effects that turned the model into a large, curious-looking robot. This campaign gave way to other advertisements that were much more remembered and appreciated by the public.
The 90s, cult campaigns
Without a doubt, the advertising actions of the 90s are among the best. Among them, in 1992 a collaboration was carried out with one of the most popular musical groups of the time to create a special version of Clio: Mecano. This action reached the top, not only for being engraved in the memory of many, but also for winning the Gold TP for the best advertisement of 1992.
Three years later, the legendary JASP (Young Although Thoroughly Prepared) campaign was born, used to promote Clio in Spain, which was a boom . This JASP generation represented young people with a high level of education, languages and knowledge that was not valued as it deserved. For this reason, Renault decided to pay tribute to them by dedicating an advertising campaign to them that revolved around a car as young and prepared as them: Renault Clio.
In fact, there are those who continue to use this term “JASP” and it has even been recently recovered to relate it to the 100% electric Megane E-Tech.
As an avant-garde brand, in 1996 and on the occasion of the launch of the second phase of the model, Renault created Clio Apple, “ the only car with a laptop ”, as it complemented the Clio RSi with a color Macintosh PowerBook 190. In addition to airing on television, the campaign for this limited series was also carried out on paper.
In addition, the sportiest models of the first generation of Clio also gained great prominence, such as that Clio 16V with 140 HP whose slogan was “Vertigo exists” and that blue Clio Williams with gold wheels, which increased its displacement and exclusivity with “ body of Clio and soul of Williams ”.
Campaigns with a sense of humor
Sometimes an advertising campaign is so successful that it becomes better known than the product itself. An entire generation remembers the short film that introduced the MTV limited series of the second generation of Clio in 1999.
The fame of this advertisement far surpassed that of a version that never became popular. The unforgettable reprise of the famous “Gueropa…”, which is what you hear in the chorus of James Brown’s song ” Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine “, is irresistibly fun. The impact it achieved was immense.
This sense of humor was also used with the Renault Sport version of this second generation of Clio with the spot “Monkey with a crossbow”, which highlighted the pleasure of driving that vehicle. In printed media, the exclusivity of the Clio V6 was also joked with the message “ My brother’s girlfriend’s neighbor’s sister-in-law’s friend’s friend says he once saw one .”
The power of images and good music
After comedy and irony, other advertising “weapons” were used for Clio IV and Clio V, especially the appeal to emotion. For example, the first spot of the fourth generation highlighted its attractive design, as different characters remembered the first time they saw it, all under the slogan “You will always remember the first time you saw it.”
Also worth highlighting is the film that was born in the United Kingdom in 2019, which has a strong emotional message. Set to the music of Oasis’ global hit “Wonderwall”, the script follows the long relationship between two young pen pals that develops into a love story over the years, as the five generations of Clio cars grow up. with them.
Later, in 2022, the spot “always Clio, now hybrid” was created with the song ” Video killed the radio star ” as a soundtrack that in a colorful and retro way recalled the history of Clio and its historical qualities, always adapted to its epoch.
Finally, starting on October 8, the announcement of New Clio will hit Spanish screens with a remix of the 80s hit ” Oh l’amour ” and starring the most legendary and sporty versions of the Clio saga, including Clio Williams and Clio V6.
A surprise for the end of the year
Aware of this great advertising heritage, Arnaud Belloni has promised that Clio ads will continue to surprise. In fact, at the end of the year a new spot will be released as a result of an artistic carte blanche granted to Belgian rapper Scylla: the music, lyrics and production have been tailor-made for Renault Clio. The saga continues!
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