THE LAUNCH CAMPAIGN FOR THE NEW C5 X, A METAPHOR
C5X is Citroën’s flagship model. Unveiled in 2021, it brings together all of Citroën’s expertise in comfort, in travel and more broadly in automotive well-being. Inspired by the CXperience concept, Citroën has made no secret of its intention to create a grand tourer, freeing itself from rules so as to create a car that combines the elegance and dynamism of a saloon, the volume and versatility of an estate, together with the posture and driving position of an SUV.
Being at the wheel of Citroën C5 X gives the feeling of floating owing to the brand-new Citroën Advanced Comfort® active suspension and the Advanced Comfort® seats. Driving C5 X is also an experience that is serene owing to driver assistance technologies and soothing because of the cab’s acoustic insulation and the fully electric mode of the car in its rechargeable hybrid version.
The launch campaign produced with the Traction agency (BETC group) seeks to represent all these sensations in different ways through an advertising film and a range of graphic illustrations.
C5 X advertising film
In the advertising film, we see a driver of C5 X with his family. The driver experiences a feeling of profound serenity. It is an emotional metaphor where we imagine the driver remembering or dreaming of the feeling that an astronaut might have floating in space, contemplating planet Earth, in complete harmony with the world, while he himself is enjoying a moment of tranquillity, suspended in time with his family. The physical and mental comfort provided by C5 X makes his driving silent, smooth, and calm. It is the attitude advocated by the brand: humanism and serenity.
“Usually in advertising campaigns, representations of space, rockets and astronauts connote speed, power and performance – concepts which are all highly masculine. Here, we have used weightlessness as a metaphor for the sensations experienced behind the wheel of Citroën C5 X. Sensations of well-being, calm and serenity. It is always thrilling to work with a brand capable of doing things so differently of what is expected!!” said Stéphane Xiberras, BETC President and Chief Creative Officer.
The film was produced by Rune Milton from the production company Phantasm. The studio scenes were filmed in Slovenia and the dynamic scenes, in Croatia on the island of Krk.
The original soundtrack by music production agency Start-Rec, echoes the driver’s feelings of well-being and gently reinforces the weightlessness effect. It was created to bolster the brand’s sound expression territory and embody its new positioning.
C5 X graphic illustrations
The C5 X launch campaign also involves graphic illustrations that continue to build the brand’s new territory. The visual codes of these illustrations combine tones inspired by the aurora borealis, suggesting calm, alongside geometrical shapes tinged with technological connotations inspired by the Retrowave graphic movement. These graphic illustrations are the result of a collaboration between the creative teams at BETC who imagined them, and the teams of Citroën’s design office who brought them to life using the same software tools as the ones used to design the car.
“Citroën is a brand that is well-known for its innovative and avant-garde approach. Since over a little more than a year, we have been wanting to showcase this through profound changes to our advertising strategy. The advertising film and graphic illustrations from up the C5 X launch campaign set the tone and emphasize everything C5 X represents: a smooth driving experience, unrivalled comfort and intense feelings of peace and well-being”, points out Laurent Barria, Marketing and Communications Director, Citroën.
For Citroën, comfort and serenity are extremely important. The brand views mobility above all as a source of calm and well-being. By signing this campaign for its flagship model with “An invitation to serenity”, Citroën is banking on people’s desire for a new car being more about wanting to experience calm and well-being rather than about their thirst for performance.
