After years of reliability issues and low brand trust we needed to reinvigorate the Renault brand. The launch of the Clio V, Renault’s most well known car, provided us with the perfect opportunity to do this. Our brief was clear. We need to demonstrate the evolution of the Clio V, whilst also bringing humanity and empathy to the Renault brand. We knew we needed to tap into our legacy of storytelling to position the Clio V as a symbol of product and societal progress.

Inclusivity is one of Renault’s three core pillars for our societal strategy moving forward. Renault has long been an ally of the LGBTQ+ community - signing the United Nations’ Free and Equal Charter and by offering training in inclusive management to all employees. We believe brands have a lot of power, and we wanted to use our platform to positively support and portray the LGBTQ+ community.

Introducing ‘30 years in the making’ - a love story that gave queer female relationships the voice they deserve. A film that didn’t try and overhaul centuries of hetero-normative and patricarchial forces in a 2 minute film. A film that didn’t conform to hyper masculine automotive advertising.

But a film that did seek to normalise love. A film that did push against aggrandising or sexualising the relationships of queer women. A film that explored the ups and downs of a friendship come relationship. A love story that celebrates not just 30 years of progress of the Renault CLIO but 30 years of progress within culture, society and life, with the Renault CLIO always there as much today as it has been since 1990. A story 30 years in the making.

To help the UK fall back in love with Renault and the Clio V, we needed to get back to what made us successful throughout the 1990s – authentic storytelling. Appealing to people who are progressive and have strong values.

To bring our brand into the 21st century we told a story that was human and warm and pushed against the toxic masculinity of the automotive industry. Where 92% of consumers surveyed agree car advertising is ‘too masculine’, and 77% of women say they were ‘put off’ buying as a result. By portraying a queer female relationship we pushed against the industry and its heteronormative shackles. Our approach of giving a queer relationship depth and telling it over three decades (rather than a three second punchline) was deliberate. A conscious strategy to positively and meaningfully portray the LGBTQ+ community in a way that was authentic not tokenistic.

To spread our message as far as we could, we developed a media strategy purely based on reach. Our film launched on UK TV, the spot surrounding some of the UK’s most watched programs - from reality TV, to drama to live sport. Our film also launched concurrently online, where it went viral in a matter of days. The comments sections on YouTube and Twitter taking on a life of their own. On top of this our campaign ran in high-reach print publications, exploring key features of the car. Whilst we also took over an entire underground tube platform - with consecutive OOH panels exploring the three decades since Clio launched. Up and down the country, in TV, OOH and online, people could see our message that no matter who you are, love is love.

We know we are just a car company. That’s why all we wanted to do was start a conversation about queer representation in this country. And we did.

With 17m+ global video views the film has most importantly been discussed, supported, and praised globally within LGBTQ+ communities, family forums, international TV and press. We also won best brand campaign at the British LGTB awards. Online the campaign has been widely heralded by the LGBTQ+ With a 41% increase in brand mentions and positive sentiment up by 9%. Originally a UK campaign, it has been picked up by 23 markets globally. An Italian MP even campaigned to have the ad aired on Italian TV to raise awareness of inclusivity. We also sold some cars along the way - selling over 4600 Clio V’s in the 4 months after the campaign launched whilst smashing our December sales target by 18%.