ŠKODAADVERTISING
THROUGHTHEAGES
ŠKODAisatraditionalbrandwithaneventfulhistory.Overthepast121years,the
moversandshakershavetimeandagainproventheircreativityandinnovativespirit–
withbicycles,motorcyclesandcars,aswellasinbreakinglong-distance-drivingrecords.
Thehistoryofadvertisingimpressivelyillustratesthebrand’sadventurousjourney–from
thefirstadvertisementsin1900andthePlannedEconomytomodernonlinemarketing.
dvertisingisnotasolelymodernphenomenon;archaeologistshave
discovered4,000-year-oldadvertsinEgypt.Ofcourse,thePharaohs
didn’tlaughatTVcommercialsorseebillboardswithprominent
celebritiestoutingexquisitefragrances.ButmarketcriersfromAlexandria
toThebeswerevehementlyandeloquentlypromotingtheirtreasures;
Semiticmerchantswerechisellingproductlistsinstonetabletstwothousandyearsago.
Withtheinventionoftheprintingpress,andlaterradio,TVandtheInternet,advertising
tookonanentirelynewdynamic,reachingmillionsofpeoplearoundtheworldatthe
touchofabutton.Justasinthepast,advertisingisstillamatteroftaste,reflecting
A
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page1of12
societyinitsrespectiveera,butwithasinglegoal:promotingsales.
VáclavKlementandVáclavLaurinrecognizedtheimportanceofadvertisingveryearly
on.In1895,whentheylaidthefoundationforoneoftheworld’soldestmanufacturing
companies,theyfirstadvertisedtheirinnovativebicycles,thenmotorcycles.Thiswas
thebeginningofseveralexcitingdevelopmentsfromthepioneeringperiod,throughtwo
worldwars,thecolourful1920sandthePlannedEconomyandTVspots,uptomodern
viralclipsonInternet.Thecompanyalwaysknewhowtocapturethezeitgeistperfectly.
ThatgivesusagoodreasontotravelonceagainthroughthecolourfulhistoryofŠKODA
advertising.
TheL&KfactoryinMladáBoleslav
VáclavKlementandVáclavLaurin
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page2of12
PrintAdvertising:
SMARTPRINTADVERTISING:
FROMTHE
PIONEERINGERATOPLAYBOY
COVERS
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page3of12
Weighinginonthezeitgeist:VáclavKlementwasactuallyabookseller,butabicycle
purchaseandachancemeetingwiththemechanicVáclavLaurininMladáBoleslavled
tothefoundingofLaurin&Klement–L&K–in1895.Thetwohadnotonlyafirstname
incommon,butalsoamutualunderstandingthatmadethemidealbusinesspartners.
Fromthenon,theybuiltbicyclestogetherinMladáBoleslavunderthebrandname
‘Slavia’,andadvertisedthemasstate-of-the-art–asseenhereinthisposterfrom1898.
Obviously,prettyladieswereseenasagoodsalesargumenteveninthosedays.
Whatappearstobetheschematicofanelectricbikeisactuallyoneofthefirstprinted
advertisementsformotorcyclesoftheMladá-Boleslavbrand–publishedon1January
1900inthesportssupplementofaPraguedailynewspaper.From1899,thefocusofthe
L&Kstart-upslowlybutsurelyshiftedinthedirectionofthemotorizedtwo-wheeler.Even
here,thepioneershadtheirfingeronthepulseofthetime.
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page4of12
VáclavKlementprovedhimselfnotonlyasanadvertisingstrategistbutasatruespindoctorin1904.FollowingamotorcycleraceinFranceinwhichtwofactorydrivershad
riddenL&Kmachines,heimmediatelyputoutanadvertisementwhichread‘Twoatthe
start,twooverthefinishline:Atwo-wheelrecord.Onehundredpercentreliabilityatthe
highestspeed.’ThefactthatFrantišekTomanandVáclavVondřichonlytooksecondand
fourthplacewassubtlyignored.
Thegallantgentlemangivesthestrikingladyahelpinghand:Theleaptoautomobile
productionwasmade.In1912,L&Kspentsome90,000Czechcrownsonadvertising,
whichwouldbetoday’sequivalentofaround€330,000.Thisadisthecoverofa1925
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page5of12
quarterlyreport,possiblythelastonetobearthenameLaurin&Klementbeforethe
mergerwiththePilsen-basedindustrialgroupwhichwasthenthelargestinthecountry.
ThisgaverisetotheŠKODAbrand.
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page6of12
ŠKODAHispano-Suiza
Theautomobileasevokingelitestatus:ThispicturefromMay1926showsthefirst
PresidentofCzechoslovakiaTomášGarrigueMasarykstandingproudlyinfrontofhis
brand-newŠKODAHispano-SuizaatLányCastle.Asappropriatetohisstanding,hedrove
amodelfromthelocalMladáBoleslavbrand,albeitwithspecialadditions,such
asaglasspartitionbetweenthecockpitandthepassengercompartmentintherear.
Despitethedifficultenvironmentintheyearsbetweenthetwoworldwars,ŠKODA’s
innovativespiritwasparticularlyevident.Inadditiontotheadvertisementwiththe
President,thecompanyfocusedonheadlinesaboutlong-distancetours.Advertisingand
journeystestingreliabilityweresensationallypromotedonflyers,postersandbrochures,
aswellasnoticeboards.
Fireandsteelinthemidstofthedrearypost-waryears:Releasedinthespringof1952,
theŠKODA1200wasthefirstcarwithanall-steelbody.Theadvertisingmessagesvaried
accordingtothesalesregion.Whetherpurchasedinthesportyversion,asanestatecar
orevenasareliableambulance,the1200wasatrueall-rounder.
TheprideofCzechmechanicalengineersiscapturedinthispicturefrom1961.ThefourseaterL200,anaircraftbearingtheMoravabrandname,poseshereforthecamerawith
anupdatedŠKODAFELICIA.Intheirday,bothwerestrongambassadorsoftheircountry.
Atthattime,thecarmakerfromMladáBoleslavexportedhigh-qualityvehicleseven
toWesternEurope,AustraliaandSouthAmerica.Saleswerealsopromotedinthese
regionswithtextuallyandgraphicallycompellingadvertising.
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page7of12
TheŠKODAmodelswererealclassicseveninthePlannedEconomy.Themodels105,
120,and130wereupdatedcontinuouslyoveraperiodofoneandahalfdecades,thus
bridgingtheperiodbetween1975and1990.Theadvertisementwasappropriately
pragmaticandtechnocratic,reflectingthespiritoftheday.Theaestheticsoftheimages
wereasminimalistasthetext.Similarly,ŠKODA’sengineswerealsoefficientandahead
oftheirtimecomparedtothecompetition.
AstheWarsawPactslippedquicklyintohistory,thecompanywasreprivatizedinApril
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page8of12
1991:ThefactthatthesaletoVolkswagenAGwasnotpurelyamarriage
ofconvenience,butratheralovematch,wasillustratedincampaignslike‘IQ+♥=
ŠKODA’byBritishagencySedleyPlaceDesignandtheagencyGGK.Here,the
advertisingexpertsbroughttheirknowhowandpassionfortheautomotiveindustryinto
acoherentandgloballycomprehensibleequation.Butitwasnotonlytheadvertising
thatwasprogressivelychanging:attheturnofthenewcentury,oneofthemostmodern
automotiveplantsinEuropeofthattimewasbuiltinMladáBoleslav.TheŠKODA
OCTAVIArolledofftheproductionlineherefrom1996.
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page9of12
TheFELICIAasfantasycar:TheFELICIAwasthefirstŠKODAmodelevertoappearonthe
coveroftheCzecheditionofPlayboymagazine.Throughthecomingyears,thevehicle
wouldalsoimpressthepublicthatitsbeautywasmorethanjustskin-deep.
Videoslides:
ASABRITISHDESSERTORA
REAL
ADVENTURER:ŠKODA–
IMPRESSIVE
INEVERYWAY
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page10of12
ŠKODAFELICIA
1994
In1994,theŠKODAFELICIAnotonlyadornedthecoveroftheCzecheditionofPlayboy
magazine,butwasalsosuspendedquitecasuallyonropes.InJames-Bondstyle,the
advertfeaturesascenewiththecarintheair.Asthefirstnewmodelfollowingthe
merger,itcombinedthetraditionalhistoryofŠKODAwiththenewVolkswagenera.
AveryBritishŠKODAadvert:In2007,ateamofconfectionersbakedalife-sizeŠKODA
FABIAcaketothetuneofMaryPoppinsclassic‘Myfavouritethings’.Whilethemost
Britishofallnanniessings‘schnitzelwithnoodles’,apieceofculinaryartworkiscreated
inthebackground–ofcoursequitelikethemodelitself,withonlythefinestingredients.
ŠKODAFABIA
2007
ŠKODAFABIA
2008
In2008,theŠKODAFABIAwonthegoldensteeringwheel:Agoodreasonforthe
advertisingexpertstoentertaintheaudiencewithawinkandsomeverydifferent
testimonials.IntheirvariousGermandialects,severalpeopleexplainwhattheyfind
mostappealingaboutthewinnerofthecompetition.Despiteallthegibberish,theclip
endsbyconcludingthat“Successisalanguagethateveryoneunderstands.”
WiththearrivalofthesecondgenerationofthesportyŠKODAFABIARS,therelated
TVcommercialgotabitedgiertoo.Theadvertopenswithashotofatelevisionscreen
playingtheoriginalandwell-known“Cakebakers”ad.Asthestoryunfolds,however,the
bakerssoonsurrendertoamuchtougher,darkerandmoretechnologicallyenhanced
productionteamthatiscreatinga“bolder”FABIARS.Componentsoftreacleandjam
makewayforabodyofbone,asnake-poweredengineandunorthodoxfinishing
techniques.
ŠKODAFABIARS
2012
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page11of12
ŠKODAYETI
2014
OneŠKODAYETIdriver’shighlyunusualweekendwasthetopicofthisEnglish-language
adfrom2013.Whiletheprotagonistdescribesadventureafteradventure,hiscolleagues
looksheepishlyintotheircups.
Arealeye-catcherin2014:theŠKODAOCTAVIARS.Thesportyversionofthisall-rounder
turnsheads.Evenalongsideajumbo-sizedbabypramoraMonstertrike,apassing
ŠKODAOCTAVIARScausesquiteastir.Clearly,that’sbecauseit‘exceedsall
expectations’.
ŠKODAOCTAVIARS
2014
ŠKODAMADE
FORSWITZERLAND
2016
ThisclipforSwitzerlandisanabsolutehighlight,demonstratinghowadvertisingcanstill
betargetedtoamarketevenintimesofglobalization.Itplaysaffectionatelywithallthe
stereotypicalSwissclichésandturnsthemontheirhead.Themarketingexperts
characterizetheSwissasversatile,cheerfulandinnovative–justlikethenewŠKODA
models.Thelogicalconclusion:SwitzerlandandŠKODAaresimplyaperfectmatch.
Wouldyouliketolearnmore?
Pleasecontacttheresponsibleperson.
ŠKODAStoryboard:
https://[email protected]
ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
Page12of12