Car ads - what they say about the brand

Ad man John Hegarty famously wrote: "A brand is the most valuable piece of real estate in the world, a corner of someone's mind." He should know. Through his agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) he has been responsible for some of the most iconic advertising campaigns to date.

Vauxhall electric car ad banned for not mentioning petrol engine

Think of the 80s and images of Nick Kamen come to mind, stripping down to his boxers in a laundrette to the sultry sound of Marvin Gaye. Another of Hegarty's creations was the Boddingtons ad featuring Melanie Sykes' immortal line: "Do you want a Flake in that, love?", delivered as she fetches a pint from her ice-cream van.

The likes of Hegarty were hugely influenced by an ad for a car in the 50s. This simple campaign 'Think Small' for the Volkswagen Beetle in the US heralded the way for modern advertising.

Celebrities and their cars

Back then the Beetle was a tough car to sell across the Atlantic for its association with Nazi Germany and for American consumers' passion for the larger automobile. Instead of bombarding consumers with endless literature about the car, which was the fashion then, ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) built a campaign that focused entirely on the Beetle's form.

A tiny image of the Beetle appeared on an empty white space to emphasise the car's size, simplicity and minimalism. It was a huge success and it went on to change the very nature of advertising.

We live in very different age. The explosion of technology in recent years in particular has changed how the consumer and product interact. In many ways technology has democratised the ad industry; walls have come down and companies can communicate with their audience in a much more casual and ultimately more effective way.

Yet elements of this simple VW ad remain. Think of Audi's winning 'Vorsprung durch Technik' slogan, which accompanies all its slick ads to imply confidently the brand's technical superiority.

Honda's brilliant 2005 'Impossible Dreams' TV ad by Wieden & Kennedy London, which anchored the 'Power of Dreams' campaign, with its echoes of Martin Luther King's iconic "I have a dream" speech, has
been pivotal in securing the brand's image as a leader in green thinking.

Here a moustachioed driver - actor Simon Paisley Day - sings while moving between a Honda road car, speedboat, racing car, jet, and the FCX Clarity hydrogen car through scenic New Zealand, Twin Ring Motegi in Japan and the Iguazu Falls in South Africa.

MINI and Olympic stars in Italian Job chase

MINI has been particularly savvy at creating a mix of interactive online TV ads with an implied narrative. Its current campaign ties the brand in to the London 2012 Olympics but in a quirky, off-beat way that's typical MINI. Like its other campaigns, this Top Gear-style viral video has been designed to come at the consumer from a different angle, to build rapport and make us believe we are part of the MINI adventure, that we belong to this imagined MINI club.

Then there are ads that are so way off the line it is a surprise they ever got the green light. Remember the 2007 Skoda Fabia ad, where technicians assemble the car like a cake to the soundtrack of Julie Andrews singing My Favourite Things?

Shot in Shepperton Studios, it took eight people 10 days to make this cake although some of us are not entirely convinced a car's body made of Rice Krispies and a chassis of edible sponge signals the right message for a car. Nevertheless, it did bring brand awareness and as we have become increasingly wary of polluting our planet, helped establish Skoda as a less harmful car brand.

Like all advertising, it is always tempting to use celebrities. Lexus' use of Kylie Monogue is particularly memorable. Driving the CT 200h, the diminutive pop star looks seductively at the camera whispering "shhh" - the idea being to demonstrate the near silence inside the cabin of this hybrid luxury compact car. It succeeded in enhancing the Japanese brand's identity in Europe, where it tends to be overshadowed by its German premium rivals BMW, Mercedes and Audi.

It was surprising though to see another Japanese marque taking on a similar initiative. Earlier this year, Honda ran a TV ad in the US featuring actor Matthew Broderick reprising his role from the 80s classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Here an older, yet still cheeky, Broderick skips his acting lessons to have a bit of fun around town in his car, the new CR-V. Admittedly it is hard not to be reminded of the gorgeous 1961 Ferrari 250GT California Spider of the original film, but Honda's ad hit the right chord - albeit for a consumer of a certain age.

Celebrities and their cars
Read Lexus car reviews
Read MINI car reviews
MINI and Olympic stars in Italian Job chase