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This is the third big campaign for Mercedes-Benz by Antoni Garage this year, and it tells the story of a thirtysomething being confronted by his 16 year-old self.
Of course, the grown up corporate man is a disappointment to the younger model, but the two finally bond when they take a spin together in the new Mercedes CLA Coupé.
The story is nicely told and well acted, with just the right amount of spiky teenage confrontation and almost no schmaltz. A female creative director, Alice Bottaro, was in charge of the “Play by your rules” campaign, which also includes print executions and a Snapchat filter.
Antoni Garage is based in Berlin, presumably not far from Publicis Emil, which was set up a year ago after Publicis Groupe won the global Mercedes-Benz brief and claims to handle “all marketing activity for Mercedes-Benz, from advertising to digital experience, to data science to CRM, to dealer communications.”
Meanwhile, Antoni Garage says it is “the European lead agency for the passenger car division of Mercedes-Benz,” so it’s unclear how those two marry up, but the independent agency seems to be doing a fine job.
Antoni has bespoke agencies for all its clients, and currently also runs Antoni Jellyhouse for sweet maker Katjes, and Antoni Boost for pressure washer manufacturer Karcher. There’s also a digital unit, Antoni X, and Antoni White for new ventures.
MAA creative scale: 8
