Thierry Gets The Red Card Move Over Nicole Here Come 'Ben And Sophie'
Published: 13th October 2005
Renault Clio
The Script
The ad opens with Ben and Sophie driving their Clios (of course!) with Ben declaring his allegiance to Britain and Sophie to France. The banter between the two then starts as they highlight some of best things about their country, teasing each other as only good friends can.
"The Eiffel tower" starts Sophie confidently. "Blackpool tower?" replies a smiling Ben.
Proudly standing next to a painting of the Duke of Wellington, Ben announces "1815 Waterloo". "The 18.15 from Waterloo?" queries a puzzled looking Sophie with the Eurostar train in the background.
"Cinema" proclaims Sophie, Ben bats back with "Television"
"The hot air balloon" says Sophie only to be countered by "Jet engine" from Ben.
"Haute cuisine" versus the British "Sandwich" is the fifth comparison.
"Jules Verne, Jean Paul Sartre, Baudelaire" says Sophie in the battle of the authors, but Ben trumps her with "Shakespeare".
Seemingly, the final counterpoint, Sophie proudly declares "French car" from the driver’s seat of her New Clio. "British designers" declares Ben to a shocked looking Sophie.
As they both lean against the Clio on the steps of Montmartre in Paris, Sophie has one last go "Paris, the most romantic city in the world" Ben turns to her with a cheeky smile "Lets see" ………..leaving the door open for episode two perhaps?
Having achieved the bringing together of the best of France and Britain, Clio now has "Twice the Va Va Voom" says the end frame.
Marketing Director Olivier Genereux
Renault UK’s Marketing Director Olivier Généreux when asked why end the successful Thierry Henry campaign commented "It is always very difficult to take the decision to end a campaign which the public like and, importantly, where there is a strong and positive association between the advert and the product being promoted. Clio and Va Va Voom are now very heavily linked but this is why Renault and Publicis, our advertising agency, have chosen to develop the campaign with "Twice the Va Va Voom".
He continued "Each new version of Clio has been marked with a new campaign and we didn’t want to shy away from that precedent. We all hope the public will take to Sophie and Ben as much as they did the previous characters and will also enjoy the light-hearted teasing that we, as the UK arm of a French company, feel we understand more than most!"
There is a dedicated web site - www.vavavoom.co.uk - that has the latest advert and lots of information about the campaign.
Renault Clio
Our Renault Clio Guide lists the full specification of the current UK Clio range, including car prices, fuel consumption, dimensions and other vital data.
Price Range: £8,175 - £16,050
Body Style:
Fuel: /
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Models in the range: 33
Our Car Buyer’s Guide covers all of the UK’s major new cars and includes CO2 ratings and car insurance groups. Data updated on the 21st Sep 2008
