Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Citroen Oli - BETC goes retro to go to the future


Well, believe it or not, all our notions of "futurism" go back to the same points - early comics and Andre Courreges designs. Citroen, fresh from revamping its logo - which ironically means it went back to its original logo of 1919 (to understand why, please go here) - is now onto launching its Oli car. BETC agency aces it, simply because they found the exact correct tone of voice to market this odd car (do note, Smart car paved the way way back then - and one of their ads made it to my top 10 best ads ever here).
Citroen has had incredible hits on its roasters (think the traction avant, the majestic DS, the SM - back when - gasp - Citroen actually owned Maserati, and the list goes on), but when you say Citroen you always go back to "a fun car, accessible and made to last", meaning? The ubiquitous 2CV.
Which is exactly what BETC riffed at when it poked the 2CV from behind the Oli to say "doesn't this remind you of anything?"
Many, as in many brands tried to cash on their past credentials, but this one is among the best - even if, let's face it, design wise Oli is not the child of the 2CV.