The Offer: Škoda España was on a hunt for the biggest pile of junk in Spain this spring as part of its “Change My Car” campaign. Powered by agency CP Proximity, the auto brand orchestrated a nationwide casting call to locate the winner—or, more accurately, loser. Entrants could upload photos and video to a special campaign microsite (skodachangemycar.com) where visitors voted on which car was the lousiest. The top 10 clunkers—those with the most “dislikes”—were judged by a panel that selected the worst of the worst, whose owner then appeared in a TV commercial with rapper Xzibit, host of MTV’s Pimp My Ride, and was later presented with a Yeti Fresh, Škoda’s new compact SUV. But the prize came with a catch: Before receiving his Yeti Fresh, the winner had to watch his jalopy, a 1980 Talbot, scrapped before a live television audience.
The Data: More than 530 users uploaded images of their unattractive rides. The photos garnered, in total, nearly 42,000 “dislikes.”
The Channel: The integrated campaign used TV, online, and social elements, including videos on YouTube, as well as Facebook and Twitter sharing options.
The Creative: Each image was accompanied by snarky commentary, ostensibly from the brand. For example, in reaction to a woman’s 1987 Opel Corsa: “How can you continue to drive this thing, baby?”
The Verdict:
Cathy Salazar is senior partner and search practice lead at MEC Interaction, where she is responsible for oversight of AT&T’s search marketing business. Salazar has more than 12 years of experience in the digital field, including display ad work for Agency.com and JPMorgan Chase. Read our Q&A with Cathy for more.
Not sure if the live car demolition was supposed to make it more dramatic, but I can certainly see it appealing to 18- to 34-year-old men. Kind of lukewarm about this one, but Škoda definitely won points when it flattened the car with a Caterpillar.
