These days, most car advertisements show off a car’s capabilities, engine size, power output, and fuel economy. While useful, this is quite boring compared to automotive advertisements of the past.
Back then, some advertisements were laughter-inducingly hilarious, really clever, and sometimes even inappropriate. Others were silly to the point where they have become classics, such as Citroën comparing their 2CV to a Lamborghini, a Rolls-Royce, and a Porsche 911. Automakers used to wage vicious ad wars on each other, especially the US ‘Big Three’ and German ‘Big Three’ manufacturers respectively. These usually started with some cheesy insult or snide remark which triggered an entertaining retaliation, resulting in higher sales for both companies. With the advent of social media, these skirmishes became full battles. Automakers would one-up each other on a global scale while their dealerships would battle locally, using billboards and banners.
So, be it comparing a Volvo wagon to a supercar or sarcastic congratulations flying hence and forth, here are 12 times when automakers’ bickering made the funniest car advertisements ever.
12 Porsche 911
Porsche has a long history of making hilarious and clever advertisements for their 911 sports car. From comparing one’s pace to an airline at cruising speed to calling the top-specification model a racecar for the road. While many of these claims do hold up, they were extremely smug with their ads.
One such ad was where they asked the reader if they ‘honestly’ spent their youth dreaming of owning cars from lesser manufacturers such as Mitsubishi or Nissan. This is quite funny as these automakers made pretty boring cars during this time – with the odd exception of the Skyline GT-R and 3000GT.
11 BMW M3 E36
BMW has always made great advertisements – from the classic 2002 printed ads of the 1960s to the more modern M-Town commercials with various M-cars going sideways, and the most recent BMW iX Superbowl spot, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Zeus retiring to Palm Springs. Their ads are simply brilliant!
One specifically boastful printed ad was when the E36-generation BMW M3 was launched. BMW had all the best cars lined up in the image, claiming that the M3 was the best-handling car in the US. This is quite a bold statement given that the line-up included a Porsche 911 and a Ferrari F355.
10 Volvo Turbo Wagon
Volvo, like Porsche and BMW, was audacious and bold in the 1980s and 1990s. Its cars were awesome and have since defined the brand. They were fast and quick but still offered all the practicality that a family would need.
One specific advertisement involved comparing a Volvo Turbo Wagon to a Lamborghini Countach towing a trailer, claiming that the Volvo had the same level of performance, but could carry a trailer’s worth of cargo. Absolutely ridiculous, but hysterically funny.
9 Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV is one of the most influential cars ever made, on par with the Volkswagen Beetle and Lada Riva. It was a car that brought personal transportation to the masses and defined an entire country’s automotive industry.
The 2CV had many great printed ads, but one, in particular, was where Citroën compared a 2CV with a Ferrari Mondial, a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, and a Porsche 911, claiming that various aspects of the 2CV were better than these class-leading cars.
8 Audi R8 GT (Lake Forest, IL)
The Audi R8 was the brand’s first – and so far only – proper supercar to rival the Italians with their Ferrari 458s and Lamborghini Gallardos. The R8 was built on the same platform as the Gallardo but was easier to live with, drive in, and use every day.
When Audi released the R8 GT, a more track-focused version of the normal R8 V10, it was quite a big deal. Only 333 R8 GTs were made worldwide, so when someone bought one in Lake Forest, Illinois, the local Audi dealership made sure everyone knew about it. The ad reads, "Attention, Lake Forest, Il, an Audi R8 GT has been sold in your town. Slow traffic keep right."
7 Porsche 911 Police Car
Another Porsche 911 advertisement, but this time regarding police cars. Thanks to the Autobahn, German cars are capable of driving at their top speeds on a public road, which meant that if anyone did something illegal and used the Autobahn as an escape route, the German Polizei would need to keep up.
As a result, they used the Porsche 911. The 911 was the best car for the job as it was fast, yet easy to drive at speed. Better yet, it was designed to travel at speed all day long, making it ideal. Porsche then took advantage of this and created a clever printed ad about it.
6 Daihatsu Hijet MPV
The Daihatsu Hijet – also known as the Mitsubishi Jetstar, Subaru Sambar, and Toyota Pixis – is a small Kei car designed to be a minivan, MPV, and pick-up truck. It is powered by a series of engines, mostly tiny inline-3s and inline-4s.
It is quite a popular vehicle in many parts of the world, specifically the Middle East and Asia. While marketing this little supermini, Daihatsu went a bit further than expected and compared this 40 hp van to a 500 hp Lamborghini, claiming superior interior space.
5 Jaguar XJS
The Jaguar XJS was a grand touring coupe that was on sale from 1975 until 1996. It was designed to replace the E-Type and was available with either a 3.6-liter inline-6 or a 5.3-liter V12. Jaguar updated the XJS over the course of its life, but by the late 1980s, it was outdated and overpriced.
The marketing campaign for the XJS was extensive, but one advert showed the legendary Jaguar XJR-6 race car, along with the XJSC convertible and the normal XJS. This implies that the XJS was related to, or had some of the racecars’ automotive spirit – which was ridiculous.
4 Ford Vs Chevy
The Ford vs Chevrolet battle has been going on since the two companies got big and is still going today. In the US, the most popular type of vehicle is the pickup truck – something both companies make in hordes.
One particular billboard war happened in South Carolina between two dealerships. The Ford dealership started it with a dig at Chevrolet with their mid-size pickup truck, but Chevrolet ended it with a diss against Ford’s muscle car.
3 Chevrolet Impala
The Chevrolet Impala was so popular that most police precincts in the US bought them for their fleets – well, Impalas or Ford Crown Victorias. The civilian Chevy Impalas had more luxurious features and exterior colors.
One advert found in a motoring magazine of the time showed a black Impala SS from the side – which looked quite sinister – with the caption, “Lord Vader, your car is ready”. The background also had shapes reminiscent of the space-opera villain’s helmet, with the ad further stating that, “it is not a car for those who prefer to arrive unnoticed”. Scary.
2 BMW Vs Mercedes-Benz
BMW and Mercedes-Benz are among the best-known automakers on the planet. They are part of the German ‘Big Three’ – along with Audi – which are always competing to have the best cars and marketing campaigns. Mercedes-Benz usually prefers the more elegant approach, while BMW comes in, drifting sideways and making a lot of tire smoke.
One of the best printed ads of the early 1990s was a BMW magazine advertisement. It showed a bunch of BMW models being transported on a Mercedes-Benz truck. The caption read, “A Mercedes can also bring driving pleasure”. If that’s not being smug, we don’t know what is.
1 BMW Vs Audi (Ft. Subaru, Saleen, And Bentley)
Finally, one of the best automotive advertisement wars in recent history happened in 2006, right after the Car of the Year award was bestowed. Audi won the South African Car of the Year with their A6, while BMW won World Car of the Year with their 3-Series. These congratulations were extremely sarcastic.
Subaru then joined in and congratulated them on their awards after winning Engine of the Year. If this wasn’t enough, Saleen jumped in on the sarcasm with a snide remark as well. Finally, Bentley – feeling left out – ended the ad battle with a silent but effective contribution.