Renault Clio, the Advertising Darling

Renault reflects on the 33-year advertising career of the Clio and gives us some clues about the next one arriving by the end of the year.

If I say “ It has everything of a big one ” or “ Not expensive enough, my son ”, what car do you think of? These advertising slogans have become as iconic as the car they refer to, in this case the Renault Clio.

The best-selling French model worldwide with more than 16 million units sold in 33 years. The city car “that has everything of a big one” has been a fruitful source of inspiration for advertisers, with numerous memorable campaigns and slogans since its debut in 1990. From the moment it was launched, Renault Clio met with success and received unanimous praise from the press and the public. The car was well born.

The freedom of the 1990s

The advertising films of the 90s are considered by Arnaud Belloni, Renault’s Global Chief Marketing Officer and former advertiser for the brand, among the best of all time. He particularly appreciated the humorous trilogy aimed at the French market, whose now-cult slogan was “ Renault Clio: it has everything of a big one ”. Chronologically, the Russian episode was aired first in 1992, followed by the Chinese one in 1994, then the Sicilian godfather in 1995.

In the same humorous and offbeat vein, Arnaud Belloni vividly recalls the final line of the 1991 Clio Baccara commercial. The son of a wealthy Emir, wishing to take over his father’s business, is told to give up his Clio because it’s “ not expensive enough, my son ”.

Sometimes an advertising campaign becomes so successful that it outsells the product itself. The notoriety of the 1999 spot for Clio II’s limited-edition MTV series greatly exceeded that of a version that remained quite confidential. Remember, that famous “ Get up ah… ”.

Arnaud Belloni summarizes this first selection from 1990 to the 2000s with a remark: “ Most of the advertising films that have marked me all share one thing: a sense of humor”. And we could also add a good sense of wit. As evidence, the memorable slogan from the 2009 campaign for Clio III: “ Renault Clio, an external sign of internal wealth ”

Clio builds its future through its past.

In 2019, with the music background of Oasis’s global hit “ Wonderwall ”, a story narrates the long relationship of two young correspondents evolving over the years into a love story, while five generations of Clio follow one after another.

To celebrate Clio’s 33 years of advertising, an exclusive preview announces the surprise for the end of this year: the release in December of a new ad featuring Clio, a project that involved a artistic carte blanche given to the Belgian rapper Scylla. The music, lyrics, and direction were “tailor-made” for Renault Clio. The advertising saga continues, and Clio is far from finished being a star.