Citroën’s new campaign places the test drive at the heart of the customer experience

Just a few days after launching a humorous advertisement highlighting the new 8-year Citroën We Care warranty, the French brand is continuing its media offensive with a strategic new campaign. This time, Citroën is temporarily moving away from purely rational arguments regarding peace of mind to focus on one of the most fundamental pillars of the car-buying process: the test drive. Titled "Love at First Drive," this campaign emphasizes the importance of physical experience in understanding the brand's identity. By highlighting the moment a driver takes the wheel for the first time, Citroën reminds us that comfort is not just described through words or figures but is felt through the senses, making this initial contact a decisive selling point.

The test drive: transforming curiosity into lasting emotion

For Citroën, the major challenge has always been to encourage potential customers to cross the threshold of its dealerships and sit inside its vehicles. This necessity has been part of the brand's DNA since its inception, as Citroën comfort—while legendary—requires real immersion to be fully appreciated. Aware that purchasing a car is the second most important investment for households after their home, the manufacturer has chosen to approach this subject with a touch of humor and a great deal of empathy. The advertisement highlights the singular emotion provided by a first journey, that tipping point where a simple interest in a model transforms into a certainty of purchase.

This approach is based on the conviction that the feeling behind the wheel is irreplaceable in the customer journey. As Xavier Chardon, CEO of Citroën, states: "The choice of a vehicle is not only a rational decision, it is also a personal decision charged with emotion." Through this campaign, the brand celebrates the budding emotional bond between human and machine—an interaction where steering fluidity, suspension softness, and seat quality play a predominant role. By inviting motorists to test its models, Citroën aims to demonstrate that the test drive is the moment of truth where marketing promises meet the physical reality of the road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eoct5hDqCb0

An advertising film between romantic nostalgia and quirky humor

The new advertising film, developed in collaboration with the BETC agency, illustrates this concept through an original and captivating narrative. The story features a woman who has just finished her test drive at a Citroën dealership. As she returns, visibly reluctantly, to her old car, the viewer is transported into a romantic flashback set to the notes of the famous track "Is This Love" by the band Survivor. This cinematic technique initially suggests a budding romance with the sales consultant, before mischievously revealing that the object of her affection is none other than the Citroën she has just tested. This playful twist reinforces the brand's message: to try a Citroën is to risk falling in love instantly.

Produced by Very Content and directed by the talented Ramez Silyan, this campaign is part of a desire for authentic communication that stays close to people. Olivier François, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Stellantis, clarifies the philosophy behind this creation: "It is always a delicate exercise: expressing a brand's DNA without talking about the product or its performance, but simply by inviting people to come and try it. If the emotion is still there, the brand is authentic. At Citroën, the human dimension remains at the center, even in an invitation to visit a dealership." By betting on this emotional approach, Citroën reaffirms its positioning as an accessible, human-centric brand capable of transforming a commercial process into a memorable life experience.

A global advertising blitz to reaffirm Citroën comfort

Citroën is thus showing itself to be particularly active on the communication front at the start of this year, unveiling its second major campaign. Much like the advertisement for the warranty, this new film does not focus on a single model but instead highlights a service and a major competitive advantage of the brand. After providing reassurance about reliability with Citroën We Care, the manufacturer now positions the test drive as the most convincing argument in its catalog.

In a rapidly changing automotive market where consumption patterns are evolving, Citroën reminds us that direct contact with the vehicle remains essential. The goal is clear: to encourage the public to walk through the doors of one of the 6,200 global sales points to discover the brand's famous "road feel." By successfully getting customers into its cars, Citroën ensures they can understand and appreciate for themselves the true comfort that has defined the brand for over a century. The future of the brand seems to begin with a simple turn of the key—or rather, a simple press of a start button.