Summary
- Campaign: “Tested for Bad Boys” (for the Fiat 500S)
- Focus: Shifting the perception of the Fiat 500 from a “cute” lifestyle car to a “tough,” masculine, and sportier variant
- Core Message: The Fiat 500S is built to withstand the chaotic, aggressive, and unpredictable lifestyle of a “bad boy.”
- Key Insight: Fiat realised that the standard 500 model appealed heavily to a feminine demographic. To sell the “S” (Sport) variant to men, they needed to prove the car could handle more than just a city commute, it could handle a temper
- Director: Nicolas Caicoya
- Director of Photography (DoP): Pedro del Rey
- Campaign launched in 2016, in collaboration with the agency Leo Burnett
Ad Plot
The commercial uses humor and exaggeration to reframe the Fiat 500—typically seen as a “cute” or “delicate” city car—as a rugged vehicle capable of surviving extreme treatment.
- The ad begins in a high-tech lab where researchers in white coats perform aggressive “durability tests.” These include slamming doors with excessive force, kicking tires violently, and banging a heavy handbag onto the hood.
- The scene then cuts to a real-world scenario where a man and a woman are having a heated argument. As she leaves, she performs the exact same actions—slamming the door, kicking the car, and hitting it with her bag—perfectly mirroring the lab tests.
- The tagline “Tested for Bad Boys” (and in some regions “What Bad Boys Drive”) suggests that the car is built to endure the “drama” and rough treatment that might come with being a “bad boy” or having a fiery relationship.
Reception & Recall
The campaign was an immediate viral success because it broke every rule of car advertising. Instead of showing the car being driven, it showed the car being “attacked.” The ad resurfaced as a viral hit on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok in late 2024 and 2025.
