The 5 Best Car Adverts of All Time

From dancing chickens to a chronically misbehaving French girl, here’s the car adverts you’ll remember and love

At Automated Doors & Gates, we often meet motoring enthusiasts keen to talk cars with us as we’re installing their new garage door. Everyone has their own opinion on which car manufacturer is the best and the new Top Gear presenters – but there are some things we can all agree on. When it comes to talking about the best car adverts of all time, most of us will know and love these five great ads.

Honda: The Cog (2003)

The production team behind this advert did not use computer generated imagery. Everything you see was arranged and filmed using two minute-long single camera dolly shots. It took 606 takes to get right.

Renault Clio: Nicole (1991-98)

Remember how this advert led to a surge in sales for the Renault Clio in the early nineties? The French actress Estelle Skornik played Nicole for seven years. The adverts were so popular that a 1996 survey found that Nicole was more recognised than John Major, who was Prime Minister at the time.

Skoda Fabia: Cake (2007)

The Skoda Fabia team married the modern obsession with baking cakes to one of the more annoyingly catchy tunes from the Sound of Music to create this delicious advert. It took £500,000 to make, but it dramatically changed public opinion of the brand, which had formerly been viewed as ‘naff’ and low quality.

Honda: Grrr (2004)

Speaking of catchy tunes, had you forgotten this one from Honda that you couldn’t stop whistling ten years ago? Grrr was a critical success, and it saw Honda sales rise by 35% in the UK.

Mercedez-Benz: Magic Body Control (2014)

The advert that made everyone download Diana Ross onto their ipods for the first time. This is proof that sometimes the simplest idea is the best – and dancing animals will make us buy almost anything.

We love cars; that’s one of the reasons that we supply the best insulated and most secure garage doors in the business at reasonable prices. Drop into our showroom on the Sweet Briar industrial estate and see our garage doors in action for yourself.

Have we left out a car advert you love? Tell us on Twitter at @AutoDoorsGates!