Papa & Nicole

Infobox Automobile
name = Papa & Nicole


advertiser = Renault
production = 1991 - 1998

'Papa' and 'Nicole' were fictional characters created to advertise the Renault Clio in the United Kingdom between 1991 and 1998. Surveys by Channel 4 and ITV award the series as the most popular car advertisements ever made. In 1996, one survey found that Nicole was recognised by more Britons than Prime Minister John Major, Bob Hoskins or Chris Evans. [cite book | last = Fog | first = Klaus | coauthors = Christian Budtz, Baris Yakaboylu | title = Storytelling: Branding In Practice | year = 2005 | publisher = Springer | ISBN = 3540235019 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=ZGT6nATg8_YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:3540235019 | chapter = ch7 | pages = p156 | accessdate = 2007-12-20] Renault was found to be the most persuasive advertiser in five European countries in 1994. The advert was designed by the Publicis agency.

Cast

*'Nicole' - Estelle Skornik
*'Papa' - Max Douchin
*Unnamed - Vic Reeves
*'Bob' - Bob Mortimer

Skornik (a Pole) herself was not French, nor had she passed her driving test when the first Clio advertisements were made. Penny Mallory, a precision stunt driver and television presenter, played both Nicole and Papa in each of the driving scenes.

Episodes

# ('Interesting', 1991)
# ('The meeting', 1992)
# ('Skiing', 1993)
# ('Transformation', 1994)
# ('Mum', 1995)
# ('Moved on', 1996)
# ('Parallel lives', 1997)
# ('The Wedding', 1998)

The final installment can be viewed on YouTube: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwqEpwO-5PE]

Finalé

An all-new second generation Renault Clio was launched in 1998 and with it came the finalé of Nicole's Provençale story.

Much publicity and speculation surrounded the question of whom Nicole would marry. Socialite and 'it girl' Tara Palmer-Tomkinson noted, "I can't understand what she is doing getting married. I mean, she is giving up everything. She is one of the most beautiful, stunning, eligible girls around. She must be off her rocker. I mean, she had everything going for her, driving around the country in her Renault Clio, all at Daddy's, or rather Papa's, expense. I should be so lucky."

The finalé was itself a spoof of the film The Graduate. Wearing a dress by Deborah Milner and a hairstyle by Nicky Clarke, with her ring designed by Stephen Webster, Nicole was led down the aisle to the as-yet-unseen groom. Played during the advertisement break between Coronation Street, an estimated 23 million viewers watched Nicole leave Vic Reeves at the altar and start a new life with Bob Mortimer in his new Renault Clio.

Throughout the entire series, only five words were spoken: Papa, Nicole, Maman, Bob, and 'YES!'.

oundtrack

Each of the advertisements featured Renault's 1980s and 1990s signature tune, Robert Palmer's "Johnny And Mary". Each used a variation of the song, most notably Martin Taylor's acoustic interpretation (an alternate version of which he released on his album 'Spirit of Django' and Renault's promotional compilation, 'Miles More Music.')

Trivia

* A contestant on Blind Date with Cilla Black and episodes of Birds of a Feather and The Mary Whitehouse Experience have referred to Papa and Nicole.
* The £350 dress worn in the first advertisement inspired a £37.99 copy at Selfridges.
* Caroline Quentin made a reference to Papa and Nicole during an improvised scene in the popular improvisational show Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
* Comedy Duo Smith & Jones parodied the ads in a sketch showing "Papa" kerb-crawling looking for a prostitute and accidentally attempting to hire the services of a girl who turns out to be "Nicole". The sketch was written by Martin Curtis. (Brown)
* A mid-1990s British Rail advertisement for Intercity Trains featured lookalikes of Nicole and Papa in a humorous pastiche. "Papa's" train-traveling companion wonders who the young lady is and remarks, "I thought you weren't married."

ources

* [http://easier.com/view/News/Motoring/Renault/article-61418.html Clio TV stars mark the public launch of new Clio Renaultsport 197] , easier.com, July 2006
* [http://jyanet.com/cap/001.htm CAP Online, Nicole? Papa!] , Autumn 1995
* [http://jyanet.com/cap/1999/0601fe0.htm CAP Online, Nicole and Papa: a 1990s retrospective] , 1999
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5192230.stm BBC, Motor show move struggles to create spark] , July 2006
* [http://www.publications.bham.ac.uk/birmingham_magazine/b_magazine1996-99/pg18_98.htm Nicole and Bob: the inside story] , The Birmingham Magazine, Number 10 October 1998