Previously, FIAT had marketed very forcefully with a “small car” message since its reintroduction in the U.S. Now we had to expand that message to include larger size as a key attribute for the new 500L. Additionally, we had to reinforce that the classic Italian spirit of FIAT was alive and well in the new bigger version. Moreover, the FIAT 500L is deceptively big, and until one sees the interior, it’s easy to assume the car is small, so we had to find a way for people to comprehend the true spaciousness of the vehicle.

To demonstrate the roominess and Italian styling of the new 4-door FIAT 500L, we recreated the Sistine Chapel ceiling inside. We commissioned a classically-trained Italian artist to create the piece. We staged the event live at the L.A. Auto Show in front of 1,000,000 visitors, and gave him just 6 days to complete the project. We captured the action with Google Glass and GoPro cameras, displayed the footage live at the show and posted daily time-lapse videos on FIAT USA’s social channels.

In just 6 days, with no paid media buy, the event generated nearly 45 million earned media impressions. At the L.A. Auto Show, the event and the FIAT 500L were crowd favorites, dominating the conversation. The stunt was featured in media outlets and publications around the world.