Title	PARKING IS NOT AN ART
Brand	NISSAN EUROPE
Product/Service	AROUND VIEW MONITOR
Entrant	TBWA\G1 Paris, FRANCE
Idea Creation	TBWA\G1 Paris, FRANCE
Production	TBWA\ELSE Paris, FRANCE

Name	Company	Position
Eric Pierre	TBWA\G1	European Executive Creative Director
Jocelyn Berthat	TBWA\G1	Creative Director
Joy Robin	TBWA\G1	Art Director
James Blose	TBWA\G1	Copywriter
Ewan Veitch	TBWA\G1	President
Buu Tran	TBWA\G1	Brand Leader
Franck Nguyen	TBWA\G1	Account Director
Margaux Wanin	TBWA\G1	Account Executive
Carine Galluffo	TBWA\Paris	Art Buyer
Pascal Batteux	Kelipse	Set Decorator
Cathy Pericone	TBWA\Else	Agency Producer
Clément Lefer	TBWA\Else	Director
Marie-Anne Tambuté	TBWA\Paris	PR Director
Jean-Pierre Diernaz	Nissan Europe	Vice-President Marketing
Gaëlle Devitry	Nissan Europe	Advertising Manager

The Campaign

To change people’s perspective on parking we created a campaign that focused on the marks on walls, columns, and objects made by parking cars. These marks in turn look like brush strokes or abstract artwork when framed correctly. So we did just that. We framed and changed the context of the marks made by parking cars and created a campaign that appeared to be artwork but wasn’t because parking is not an art.

Creative Execution

In a parking garage we created a gallery by framing all the marks made by parking cars. On every wall and column we framed the marks, even placing placards with titles for each artwork. The work also showed in print magazines and as huge posters of marks in the metro. As a guerrilla stunt we framed knocked over parking barriers, walls that had been scratched, curbs that had been marked, poles that had been scraped all over the streets of Paris. Then we created the first and last exhibition of a dying art form with real parking garage walls and columns at Paris’ Museum the Gaîté Lyrique. Visitors were confronted by the artwork wondering, “what is art?” in a space where parking had never been considered art before. The artwork was then put on eBay to be auctioned off to fund youth art programs.

Our goal was to change the perception of Nissan's technology. Since the campaign’s debut the perception of the brand has indeed seen growth that outpaced Nissan’s competitors (as tracked by Market Intelligence™). Viewed as an “innovative brand” Nissan moved up from 20% to 22%, as a “technologically advanced” brand Nissan moved from 23% to 24%, as a “safe” brand Nissan moved from 32% to 34%, and as a “user friendly” brand Nissan moved from 18% to 20%. Our work also changed thousands of Parisian’s perception of parking. Hundreds of drivers showed up to opening of “The Dying Art of Parking” exhibition at Paris’ museum the Gaîté Lyrique. After the exhibition the artwork was auctioned on eBay for youth art programs. And people, including you, will never look at marks on parking garage walls the same again.

We brought our campaign for Nissan’s Around View Monitor to life through numerous activations that targeted drivers. Drivers were confronted with the creative work in parking spaces around the city as well as inside a private parking garage. The work was also displayed in a prominent Parisian museum pushing drivers to rethink the meaning of parking, which in turn created a dialogue about parking and art.

Our insight was that drivers hate having to park. They fear they’ll scratch, bump, and dent their car. Our work reminds them of that day they didn't maneuver quite right, running both the side of their vehicle as well as the rest of their day. So our strategy was simple: get drivers to change their perspective on parking. Our approach was to bring this to the real world but also take it to a world where parking has no place: the art world.