How CHEP Revived Mazda’s Iconic 'Zoom-Zoom' for a New Generation
Mazda Australia’s latest collaboration with CHEP Network revives the beloved ‘Zoom-Zoom’ tagline, which has captured hearts for over two decades.
Glen Dickson, deputy chief creative officer at CHEP, examines how the spot modernised the iconic campaign for a new generation while preserving its legacy.
Glen highlights Mazda’s human-centred design and Australians' intense emotional connection with Mazda.
He also discusses the campaign’s immersive out-of-home activations and how they resonate with both nostalgic drivers and first-time Mazda buyers.
LBB> What inspired the decision to bring back the iconic ‘Zoom-Zoom’ tagline in this campaign, and how did you modernise it for a new generation?
Glen> Zoom-Zoom was conceived in 2000 by US advertising agency Doner (I’m trying to find out who the actual writer was to give them credit here – what a genius). The line was then exported by Mazda Corporation all around the world. Interestingly, it’s one of the very few pieces of advertising language that didn’t need to be translated, no matter where it ran globally. It’s just so simple and memorable: two little words that perfectly summate both Mazda’s design ethos and how driving one makes you feel.
Its ‘rightness’ and instant recallability make it a real earworm. The line owns a little piece of real estate in everyone’s brain that will be forever Mazda’s. In Australia, unlike other countries, Zoom-Zoom never really went away. In various guises, it’s been on the end frame of our commercials for almost 25 years. I guess we’ve just started shouting it again now. Doing the work to build relevance in it for a new generation of drivers. You feel your Zoom. I think my Zoom. But together, we’re united by how good it feels to get out there and move.
LBB> How did you collaborate with Mazda Australia to ensure the campaign stayed true to the brand’s legacy while resonating with contemporary audiences?
Glen> Advertising ideas only have longevity and energy if they come from a proper place. So when we talked about how to recast Zoom-Zoom for a modern audience, the Mazda team immediately knew what felt natural and what didn’t. Everything we do comes from the brand’s heritage and values.
LBB> With such a strong emotional connection to the 'Zoom-Zoom' ethos, how did you ensure this campaign stood out in today’s highly competitive automotive advertising landscape?
Glen> Mazda has always had a unique perspective on what it feels like to move. Before human-centred design was even a thing, they were already doing it and choosing to put the driver in the middle. Making sure every subsequent decision revolves around them.
So, while a lot of today’s automotive advertising can feel, at times, like a rational, cold technology/features arms race, Mazda has a purposefully different story to tell. When we boil it down, our work should make people feel Zoom-Zoom. That’s it. If we can achieve that, everything we do – from advertising to the dealerships to the digital experience – will feel undeniably Mazda.
LBB> What role did out-of-home and activations play in enhancing the audience’s engagement with the 'Zoom-Zoom' experience?
Glen> The out-of-home is super simple. A distillation of the idea. Even though we’re all different and all drive for other reasons, when we add your Zoom to my Zoom, there’s a universality of feeling that ties us together. As we continue to build into that platform with subsequent campaigns, the aim is to tell people what Zoom-Zoom is and help them genuinely feel it. The experience of buying a car – owning a car – is full of moments where we can inject that feeling. Where the brand can prove its role in drivers’ lives, that’s the plan.
LBB> Can you share any insights on how you tailored this campaign to reflect Australians' unique connection with Mazda and the joy of driving?
Glen> We hope that the campaign, initially and in all of the ways we hope to develop things further over time, will genuinely reflect modern Australia. Zoom-Zoom is about commonality. About the feelings we share. When you start consciously looking for Mazda cars on the road, you appreciate that they’re everywhere. City and country. Big cars and small cars. Hatches, SUVs, utes, and commercial vehicles. Mazda doesn’t just sell one kind of car to one group of people. They sell all of the cars to everybody. And that’s a very Australian, egalitarian place to start from.
LBB> In what ways did you aim to evoke nostalgia for long-time Mazda drivers while also appealing to younger, first-time buyers with this campaign?
Glen> The original Zoom-Zoom film famously began with a boy who turned and whispered “Zoom-Zoom” to the camera. We echoed that in the new commercial, showing a girl playing with a toy Mazda MX-5 on the carpet at home and doing the same thing. But beyond that one small, reflective moment, we believe there’s a timeless truth to the brand idea that goes well beyond film homage or overt references to the past.
So, we don’t need to make any significant distinction between those who may have a nostalgia for the brand and those who are coming to it fresh. Our new work should speak to both.
LBB> What were some challenges in re-establishing such a beloved tagline, and how did you overcome them during the creative process?
Glen> We have always seen Zoom-Zoom as a total gift. Not every brand has a campaign that’s so embedded in the culture. It is readily recalled and emblematic of what the organisation is about. The challenge for us is to build on its incredibly durable heritage and get Zoom-Zoom back out on the road for a new moment.
We’re looking forward to reopening one of the most iconic lines in advertising up in lights. From now on, figuring out how to make it live and breathe in everything we do for the brand.
