Fiat Group Automobiles triumphs at the 56th Cannes Advertising Festival

Fiat Group Automobiles triumphed at the fifty-sixth edition of the Cannes International Advertising Festival winning, for the first time in its history, four of the sought-after prizes (a Grand Prix, two Gold Lions and a Bronze Lion), which are awarded to the best advertising and communication campaigns put out during the year. The Cannes Festival is the most important event of its kind in the world and brings together companies and advertising agents to choose the best TV adverts and designs, subdivided into various categories:

The two Gold Lions (Film and Outdoor categories) were won by the Fiat Brand with the campaign (TV and poster) devoted to the 500. The campaign was designed in France and effectively reflects the positioning of a manufacturer that is concerned with safety and the environment, with the most environmentally-friendly product range in Europe. In order to convey this twofold message, creative staff from the Marcel Paris dreamed up an original and amusing TV and poster campaign depicting some animals – representing endangered species – aboard a Fiat 500 during crash tests, all passed in complete safety due to the vehicle's qualities. A short text commented "designed to reduce impact on the environment" with the double meaning of eco-friendly/safety, demonstrating that safeguarding the environment and saving human lives are not mutually exclusive goals. When awarding the prizes, the festival panel recognised the originality of the campaign and the open way this topic was dealt with: the brand does not deny the impact of the motoring world on the environment but is doing all it can to minimise it.

The Fiat brand also won the prestigious “Grand Prix” in the Cyber category (for a campaign designed by the AKQA agency in London), awarded to the Eco:Drive project, which showed Fiat putting into practice the idea that a car manufacturer's environmental responsibility also extends to the way people drive their cars. For this purpose, the owners of cars equipped with Blue&Me can download a specially-created software application (from the address www.fiat.com/ecodrive) to check their driving style. Eco:Drive gathers all necessary information on a car's efficiency through the USB port of the Blue&Me system onto a pen drive. Once entered onto a computer, the system displays the car's detailed environmental performance, including its CO₂ emission levels for each trip. It also analyses the driving style and gives tips on how to change your driving style to achieve a lower level of CO₂, thus encouraging drivers to improve their environmental impact.

Worldwide, Fiat is one of the automotive companies offering the best response in the battle to beat the environmental impact of transport. To achieve this significant goal, Fiat offers specific products that make it the European leader in the production of compact vehicles, which are by definition the most eco-friendly. Two years ahead of time, the Fiat 500 and Fiat Bravo have introduced their Euro 5 power units; the numerous methane models make it possible to minimise atmospheric emissions and Fiat has continued to stay abreast of the international scenario with its LPG range on the Panda, Grande Punto and Bravo and its new Pur-O₂ range specific to 500, Croma and Bravo models. All this has allowed the Fiat brand to record the lowest average CO₂levels in its cars sold both in 2007 (137.3 g/km) and in 2008 (133.7 g/km): the record was acknowledged by the company JATO, world leader in automotive consultancy and research. The most recent Fiat models have also been awarded a five star EuroNCAP ranking, making them among the very safest cars.

Lancia also won a Bronze Lion in the Oudoor category with a campaign created and distributed in France on the Delta and its Autoparking System: in a typical Parisian setting, the driver and passenger are both able to read a newspaper unconcernedly while the car parks itself unaided.

This campaign also shows that Fiat Group Automobiles has invested a lot in innovation, not merely in its products but also in its way of communicating, making it more responsible and at the same time more appealing.