On Creativity through Jan. 1, we’ll be revisiting some of the brand ideas and campaigns that made 2019—and the last decade. Check back on AdAge.com in the new year for the full lists.

Best of 2019

Brand anniversary ads are often celebratory blockbusters that recount their colorful histories, but in this spot from Publicis Poke celebrating the Renault Clio’s 30th birthday, the car takes the backseat to this surprising, modern love story about two longtime friends.

Original Story

Renault is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Clio with a heartfelt film portraying a love story between two young women, one British and one French.

The film spans the three decades of the Clio as it portrays the story of two women who first meet on a classic French exchange"program when the British girl is sent to stay with a French family. Unsure of each other at first, they bond over a mixtape and then over the years, they become close friends. Eventually friendship turns to love, but parents disapprove and then the French girl gets married (to a man), leaving the British girl heartbroken. But will a journey via Eurotunnel see this love story end happily? Well—this is 2019, after all. 

Directed by Frederic Planchon of Academy for Publicis Poke, it's set to a soulful cover version of Oasis track "Wonderwall," by female artist Rahel Dabebe-Dessalegne. All the different editions of the Clio from the 30 years are seen in the film, which painstakingly recreates each decade up to the present. 

Renualt Clio's advertising in the U.K. has always been played on the British love affair with all things French (its classic "Papa" and "Nicole" ads, also through Publicis, being a famous example) and the ad plays on that with a distinctly modern slant—and one that's perhaps particularly poignant given the current Brexit situation. 

“We wanted to humanize and celebrate, not just thirty years of progress of the Renault Clio, but also the progress made within culture, society and life in that time," said Adam Wood, marketing director at Renault U.K. "The Renault Clio is as in tune with the times today as it always has been.”

The film runs in two-minute, 60- and 30-second versions, in TV and cinema accompanied by a wider campaign including out-of-home campaign, press, social and opportunities to interact with the content on Spotify.