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Škoda's New Octavia Hits the Road Fueled by Reddit Love and Petrolhead Passion

Leo Burnett UK taps into the passionate Reddit community to drive Škoda’s latest campaign for the fourth-generation Octavia, highlighting the car's cult status among British petrolheads

By Creative Salon

17 July 2024

Škoda and Leo Burnett UK are tapping into the enthusiasm of the Reddit community with a new social-first campaign for the fourth-generation Octavia. Titled “You Said It,” the campaign focuses on the dedicated followers of the subreddit 'r/CarTalkUK', which boasts over 350,000 members. These car enthusiasts have affectionately dubbed the Škoda Octavia as “Our Lord and Saviour, the Škoda Octavia,” encapsulating the car’s cult status among petrolheads.

To transform these dedicated fans into active advocates for the 2024 model, Leo Burnett UK and Škoda have handed over the keys to Reddit members with the first-ever ‘Reddit Car Share’. Participants from across the length and breadth of the UK have been the very first to test-drive the new fourth-generation Octavia, before press, retailers and even before the car was photographed for marketing.

Mark Elwood, CCO, Leo Burnett UK, said: “When people have good things to say about your product, sometimes the best thing the agency can do is to get out of the way and give them the platform to do it. Our fans have given us funny, compelling messages to sell the Octavia that we would never have gotten away with ourselves. Here’s to people power.”

Redditors driving experiences and their testimonials will be turned into headlines such as “Notice how time and space bend around the vehicle as a mark of respect” and amplified across OOH, print, social and digital. Highlighting that the Škoda Octavia is the chosen car of people that know about cars, each execution will be accompanied by the campaign slogan ‘You Said It’.

Kirsten Stagg, MD, Škoda, added: “The Octavia is a quietly brilliant vehicle in our range, and I’m so pleased we’ve found the right way to celebrate it. Harnessing the power of fandom can be a tricky thing, but this campaign has shown us how to engage fans in the right way: using them not just to build our credibility but also to deliver a creative and original campaign that is bang on Škoda’s human tone-of-voice."

For the final stage of the campaign, Škoda and Leo Burnett will also be creating the first ever car configured by Reddit. From the body shape to the paint, wheels, engine and tech, every aspect of the special edition Octavia will be chosen exclusively by the people who know it best. To have a say on ‘The Reddit Edit’, fans will be able to vote via Reddit from today until the 21 July. The finished Octavia is set to be made and retailed from 24 July.