Good Resolutions - Renault | Clapboard Ad Archive

Renault’s Good Resolutions campaign, developed by Publicis for the French market in 2013, marks a pivotal moment in automotive communications, foregrounding sustainability in a landscape historically dominated by performance and aspiration. Targeting a consumer base awakening to environmental imperatives, the film deploys a culturally attuned exploration of personal commitment — leveraging the universal ritual of New Year’s resolutions — to recast sustainable driving as an attainable, relatable behavioral shift. Rather than relying on direct testimonials or overt demonstrations, the concept frames the challenge of emissions reduction through metaphor and symbolism, aligning with what Clapboard’s 12-format taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem. Viewers are invited into an emotionally resonant narrative where each small decision, rendered through everyday moments, stands as a proxy for the larger choice to embrace Renault’s Zero Emission (ZE) vehicle line. The campaign avoids heavy-handed eco-messaging or technical jargon, instead weaving the brand’s underlying promise of innovation and sustainability into a story shaped by both the zeitgeist and local French sensibilities, reflecting smart calibration to the cultural context and prevailing consumer values. This strategic creative choice positions Renault not simply as an automotive manufacturer, but as a facilitator of real, meaningful change, effectively anchoring the ZE proposition within the broader lexicon of self-improvement and socially responsible mobility. Publicis’s execution features an emotionally calibrated tone, elevated production values, and visual storytelling that gracefully sidesteps didacticism, ensuring the campaign’s accessibility and appeal while reinforcing the technological leadership underpinning Renault’s pursuit of lower emissions. By centering symbolic resolutions rather than literal solutions, the work resonates with aspirational consumers in France who seek to reconcile their mobility needs with their environmental conscience, further differentiating Renault within an increasingly competitive sustainability narrative in automotive marketing. Clapboard rates this 63/100. For the automotive category, Good Resolutions matters because it demonstrates how brands can drive relevance and long-term equity not through declarations of progress, but by embedding the climate conversation in the familiar rituals of personal resolve.