The Drive, The Plane - Renault | Clapboard Ad Archive

Renault’s 2018 campaign The Drive, The Plane, crafted by Publicis Conseil for the French automotive market, continues the brand’s long-running narrative that elevates the pride of owning a used Renault vehicle, focusing specifically on the Renault OCCASIONS line. This campaign builds on previous installments from 2016 and leverages humor and relatable everyday scenarios to reframe second-hand car ownership as a source of genuine pride rather than compromise. In the film Plane, the narrative centers on an airline pilot who, while announcing his flight plan, surprises passengers by enthusiastically detailing the features and turns of his used Renault Megane, intertwining the precision and reliability expected in aviation with the dependable performance of his second-hand car. The Drive features a customer engaging with a call operator, whose increasingly destabilized reactions underscore the customer’s unabashed pride in driving a second-hand Clio, using humor to emphasize authenticity and self-assuredness. Both films position the used Renault not as a fallback option but as a deliberate and satisfying choice, reinforcing emotional ownership and brand loyalty. This approach aligns with what Clapboard’s taxonomy identifies as FORMAT#5 EXEMPLARY STORY, where the product is central to the plot’s resolution and drives the storytelling momentum. Publicis Conseil’s execution spans TV, web, radio, and print, ensuring broad reach and reinforcing the campaign’s key message across multiple touchpoints. The campaign earns a 63/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. Renault and Publicis Conseil demonstrate that within the automotive category, narratives that celebrate second-hand vehicles with humor and pride can effectively shift perceptions and build brand equity, which matters because it signals a strategic move toward normalizing and elevating pre-owned car ownership in a market often dominated by new car desirability.