Cars24’s Skip the Drama turns car buying into a fiery tug-of-war

Cars24 has given the used-car industry’s hard-sell theatrics a blockbuster twist. In a new Australian platform called “Skip the Drama”, the brand turns the negotiation itself into a literal tug-of-war, played out on a volcanic battleground with an archetypal used-car salesman pulling every pressure tactic he can while a customer pushes back with Cars24 in her corner.

01 · The idea behind the spectacle

The launch film, directed by Curtis Hill of Desert Bloom and shot on a volume stage at Nant Studios, brings together cinematographer Jeremy Rouse ACS and production designer Jo Ford, whose credits include Animal Kingdom, The Rover and Cargo. It is the first major work from Public FYI, the independent collective founded by Huei Yin Wong, a former Ad Age Rising Star and Cannes Lions “See It Be It” alumna.

Wong said the campaign was built to challenge category conventions. “Working with a brand that’s genuinely disrupting its category, it felt right to create a platform that challenged the usual conventions, too,” she said.

Curtis Hill, director at Desert Bloom, said the brief was rare. “Briefs like this don’t come along often. So, to be trusted with bringing such a high-concept idea to life was a real joy,” he said, crediting the collaborators across Public FYI, Cars24 and the crew.

02 · Proof points after the pyrotechnics

The film is supported by a series of proof-point shorts that shift the story from spectacle to service. They showcase Cars24’s 30-Day Returns Policy, home delivery, 300-point inspections and comprehensive car reports, making the case that buying a used car does not have to be an epic battle. An out-of-home rollout, photographed by Jay Hynes, and radio spots sound-engineered by Sean Wilkinson at Rumble, complete the launch across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

• The pain: used-car buying is riddled with pressure tactics and theatre.
• The dramatisation: a customer and a salesman face off in a volcanic tug-of-war.
• The proof: 30-day returns, home delivery, 300-point inspections and car reports.
• The rollout: film, proof shorts, out-of-home and radio across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

03 · Why the category needs a new story

Used-car buying is a trust-driven category in most markets. Pressure selling, hidden conditions and theatre around price are exactly the behaviours that erode confidence. Skip the Drama does not just call out those behaviours; it makes them so big and absurd that the customer’s frustration becomes the brand’s side. That is a positioning choice, not just an advertising choice: Cars24 is claiming the rational, no-theatre alternative.

For Gajendra Jangid, Co-Founder of Cars24, the work is a statement of intent for the Australian market. “Australia is a hugely important market for Cars24, and we’re here to build a brand Australians can trust for the long haul,” he said. “‘Skip the Drama’ is a big, confident statement about whose side we’re on: the customer’s.”

04 · What brand leaders can borrow

Skip the Drama is an example of a two-part platform: a high-concept film that makes a category pain point unmissable, and concrete service proof that gives the promise something to land on. The risk in this kind of work is letting production values outshine the product; Cars24 and Public FYI keep both in the same campaign.

For marketers, the takeaway is straightforward. If you are dramatising a familiar frustration, make the exaggeration count, then close the loop with a specific guarantee or proof point. The volcano gets attention; the 300-point inspection and returns policy create belief.

Source: Campaign Brief

Mad About Marketing Desk The strategists and writers at Mad About Marketing, writing up what we see in the work every week.