For 123 years, Fiat has been Italy's ambassador to the world. And with its new "New Dolce Vita for all" strategy, it aims is to bring the Italian way of life made of joy, optimism, cheerful, and bright colours - everywhere. Values that a grey-coloured car would have failed to convey. Hence, the courageous decision to stop producing grey cars forever. A choice as strategically consistent as is commercially risky given that 27 percent of all cars sold each year worldwide are this colour.

The brand's desire was to give a concrete and real demonstration of the new positioning - "New Dolce Vita for all." That is, to bring to the world the joy and happiness of the Italian way of life. Hence, Fiat CEO Olivier Francois' decision to stop making grey cars, as grey does not represent Italy and all that it means in the world. The goal was to find the most disruptive, spectacular, and iconically Italian way to communicate the news.

Italy is the land of colours, joy and positivity. These very values are what Fiat, as an Italian brand, has always been committed to bringing into people's daily lives. And the decision to stop producing grey cars is yet another demonstration of this commitment.

The decision to stop producing grey cars, even though they account for 27 percent of all cars sold worldwide, stems from the brand's desire to assert its colourful and joyful Italian identity in a completely distinctive way. The campaign was intended for the global market and there was no specific target audience. For this reason, the only solution was to design a one-of-a-kind creativity from the automotive sector, capable of capturing attention in terms of spectacle and entertainment. Like dipping the CEO of a company in 10.000 litres of orange paint.

Operation No Grey breaks the rules of the automotive product sector. For starters, it launches the news that Fiat will no longer produce grey cars, albeit grey is the best-selling car colour in the world: 27 percent of all cars sold are grey. And then because it is a spectacular stunt that aims to communicate brand values only. While industry communication is dominated by commercial TV with commercial purposes.

A spectacular stunt to announce that Fiat, in order to bring joy and optimism to the world, would no longer produce grey cars. This was done by the brand's CEO himself - Olivier Francois - who agreed to get into a grey Fiat 600, be lifted by a crane 15 metres above the ground, and then be submerged into a canister of 10.000 litres of orange paint. An operation that is part of the new positioning "New Dolce Vita for all," by which the brand is committed to bringing typical Italian joy and optimism to the world. Even by putting its own business at risk.

With zero paid media, the film spread spontaneously, reaching 46.4 million views. More importantly, it generated +74% positive sentiment towards the brand. System1, a global marketing research and effectiveness company, found that it is in the top 3% of UK car ads of all time for audience preference. It scored 3.6 stars while the average is 2.4 stars. It also performs well on its potential to drive short-term sales, scoring an 'exceptional' 1.34 spike score, higher than the category average of 1.04. It has also been featured in more than 6,500 articles in newspapers and magazines around the world such as Le Monde, The Times, and SKY.

Fiat isn’t able to compete with other global automotive brands in terms of average spending. To gain visibility, it needed to distinguish itself from stereotypical, competitor communications focused on product and features, in the name of its own brand values. Even at the cost of taking commercial risks: in fact, 27 percent of all cars sold are grey. Fiat did it with an execution that is disruptive in the automotive landscape, but absolutely in line with its own "New Dolce Vita for all" positioning.