auto italia 49F
iat has just launched a new ‘Lose the Labels’
advertising campaign for its 500, which it says
is, “designed to shake off gender stereotypes,
age, lifestyle and fashion labels... and reflect
the true personality of their owners.” I guess
it’s all encouraging you to think of the Fiat 500 as a
statement of your individuality – which is a pretty
accurate point of view among owners.
The campaign got us thinking about how many
brilliant ads there have been for the Fiat 500. There
are some fascinating differences between
geographical areas. UK ads have tended to focus on
the 500’s fashionable character. We’ve had ad lines
like, “Life’s too short to wear a boring car” and –
brilliantly – “Chic as Chips”.
American ads are typically more sassy. “On a scale of
1 to 10, it’s a 500” said one US ad, while another gently
poked fun at America’s more generously-portioned
offerings: “Bigger isn’t better, it’s just harder to park”.
And there’s even occasionally a bit of flirtatiousness:
“Form and function meet. And begin a torrid affair”.
We love friendly Canada’s ad for the 500 that went:
“There’s are already enough angry faces on the road.
Drive friendly”. As for the 500X, that’s been promoted
Selling
The
Italian
Dream
There’s something about
Italian cars that has
always inspired ad
agencies to produce
brilliant campaigns. Here
are some of our favourite
Italian car ads of all time
Story by Chris Rees