Publicis France is Renault's agency, a relationship Menochet says predates his own existence; currently copywriter Serge Fichard and art director Pascal Midavaine are lead creatives on this account. About half of Renault's overall ad spend is TV-based, with production budgets of E450,000 to E750,000 allocated for each spot. To put this in perspective, in 2001 Publicis developed 10 spots for the French market along with three internationally distributed spots. One spot saw Renault teaming up with another classic French brand, to promote a new vehicle, the Twingo.

"We thought a co-branding with Perrier would be a good opportunity for us to give some extra punch to our popular super-mini, Twingo. Once we contacted the brand manager at Perrier Vittel France (a Nestlé brand), everyone was very enthusiastic about the project, so things went very fast," says Menochet. Both brands are considered stars in France; Twingo stands for cheerfulness, optimism, is a bit cheeky and has always had a strong personality in the small car segment. Perrier is also an extremely strong brand with positive associations to sports, partying and fun, with a "chic" touch. Consumers reacted enthusiastically to the co-branding, calling Twingo Perrier "fresher" and more "dynamic" than the standard Twingo.

The creative for this and other spots, such as a comedic and visually driven campaign for the Renault Scenic adhere to Menochet's French ad style guide. The Twingo spot has a man sneaking a drink of Perrier from the windshield wash dispensers of a beached Renault, while the Scenic spots, set to jaunty world music, feature odd scenes revolving around animals (for example, an old man feeding ducks who suddenly lobs meat into the jaws of a waiting crocodile).

"For me, what characterizes French advertising style is a blend of aesthetics and poetry. French creatives see themselves as real artists and like to express simple ideas in both simple and grandiose ways. Ideally, consumers should be moved by a good typically French spot," he says.

"The creative itself needn't be as carefully carved as in Scandinavian or British ads. Humor, when present, is more in the Latin style, that is, a bit slapstick and not as subtle or detached as British humor."

"The creative itself needn't be as carefully carved as in Scandinavian or British ads. Humor, when present, is more in the Latin style, that is, a bit slapstick and not as subtle or detached as British humor. Typically grandiose French ads include Channel N?5 spots such as 'Vanessa Paradis' from the Early '90s or the latest, 'Little Red Riding Hood,' Air France 'Faire du ciel le plus bel endroit de la terre' (with the Chemical Brothers music), Peugeot 'Baiser de l'hotel de ville' ad for its 406 Coupé and Galeries Lafayette 'Suggestion d'accompagnement.' The best example I can think of among Renault advertising would be the 'Créateur D'Automobiles' campaign featuring Jean Paul Gaultier. Actually, the Scenic TV spots, some of my favorites, are not very representative of what I was describing as typically French ad style."

WEBFILES:Renault France> www.renault.fr
Renault Scenic> www.renault-scenic.com
Publicis France> www.publicis.fr