Five of the perfect automotive adverts that might be remembered perpetually

A good car advert is hard to miss. Splashy, sexy and expensive, when done well they can leave a lasting impression.

And it’s not just billboards or TV adverts any more. These days a 60-second clip on social media can cost millions and capture a huge audience. 

Car companies remain some of the biggest advertising spenders. In 2024 the UK car industry increased digital ad spending by 22 per cent – more than any other sector.

However, blowing the ad budget doesn’t always guarantee success. Sometimes the simplest campaigns work best.

Here are our five best car adverts, from a gravity-defying 1980s classic to a noughties clip that could only be shown after 7:30pm.

Are they the same as yours? Does a little go a long way? Or should it be ‘go big or go home’?

Volkswagen’s 1987 ‘Changes’ GTI TV advert

‘If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen’.

We’re not sure what was best about this now legendary advert; that tagline, old-school advertising getting on board with 80s feminism or the Golf GTI itself.

Directed by British photography great David Bailey, the storyline of a woman walking out on a bad relationship, throwing away her expensive (and seemingly gifted) possessions, but keeping the keys to the GTI, made model Paula Hamilton a household name.

A masterclass in how effective a relatively simple ad can be when the story line is left to sing for itself, VW’s 1987 ‘Changes’ TV commercial will continue to live on as the bar to beat for decades to come.

Land Rover’s 1986 dam advert

A couple of years after the Defender 110 and then 90 launched, Land Rover decided to showcase just what its 4×4 could do.

And so, the 1986 ‘dam’ advert was released, which saw a rust-coloured Defender drive across some extremely tackling terrain (including through rivers) before the driver fired a hook over the top of a colossal dam.

The Defender then proceeds to winch itself up the sheer gradient, before driving along the top of the mammoth structure as the tagline ‘the best 4×4 by far’ appears next to the green Land Rover badge.

Back in the good old days of proper Defenders, this daring stunt reiterated the idea that ‘nothing — but nothing — gets in the way of a Land Rover.’

Honda ‘Cog’ advert

Making something impossibly difficult look easy is a true skill.

Honda’s 2003 ‘The Cog’ advert for the seventh-generation Accord showed a Rube Goldberg machine – a chain-reaction contraption similar to that in the children’s game Mousetrap – utilising a chain of colliding parts taken from a disassembled Accord.

At the time, the 120-second sequence was rumoured to have taken over 600 takes but this was later debunked to just over 100 takes. 

Many people didn’t believe it was real, but it was. 

Honda spent £1 million on the video, which went on to be regarded as one of the most groundbreaking and influential commercials of the 2000s.

Renault’s 2003 Megane ad (that had a curfew)

It’s hard to imagine a car as solid, and frankly boring, as a Renault Megane ever being associated with scandalous behaviour, but surprises happen.

In 2003 Renault released its advert for the Megane.

The rear of the Megane was compared with ‘derrieres’ with typical French amorous humour set against the soundtrack of Groove Armada’s ‘I See You Baby (Shakin’ That Ass)’.

Apparently, this was too much for prim and proper British audiences, as the ad was slapped with a permanent ban on being aired before 7.30pm.

139 viewers complained about ‘wiggling bottoms’ and the word ‘ass’ being used in the add according to the Guardian at the time. 

The independent television commission ruled the Renault Megane commercial must be kept away from children’s programmes.

The shifting of the advert only drew more attention to it, and the ‘ass-shaking’ was wildly popular with audiences, as was the soundtrack which Fatboy Slim remixed.

Mercedes’ Body Control chicken ad

It’s a chicken pretending to be a human – do we really need to say more?

For context we will, but essentially animal humour and just good fun will forever make this one of the best car ads ever.

The chickens’ bodies mover around but their heads stay still thanks to the ‘magic body control’ function of Merc V8 cars – the feature that uses cameras to scan the road and adjust the suspension for a smooth ride.

Mercedes’ won Auto Express’ Car Ad of the Year award in after getting 51 per cent of the public vote.

Created by the German agency Jung von Matt/Neckar, it doesn’t even feature a car and yet is iconic – we declare them advertising geniuses.