Hyundai Motors has placed the weird and wonderful streets of Las Vegas at the heart of its new campaign to promote its latest driverless vehicle.

The car marques’ global digital and creative agency partner, Jung von Matt Spree has eschewed the automotive category norms with the launch of a global print and out of home campaign with a playful take on its self-driving robotaxi.

‘Trained in Vegas’ is a new campaign which is inspired by Hyundai Motor's choice of Las Vegas as the launch location for its IONIQ 5 robotaxi. The campaign creative leans into the city’s wild reputation to highlight its technical capabilities. 

The idea is that Hyundai Motor’s fleet of robotaxis are always learning from the traffic situations they come across. As Vegas is arguably the most eccentric city in the world it makes for the perfect location choice to train the driverless vehicle’s algorithm. As the robotaxi successfully navigates Vegas' unpredictable streets, the campaign claims: ‘If the IONIQ 5 robotaxi can handle Vegas, it’s ready to handle just about anywhere.’

The campaign opts for a humorous approach in contrast to the typical autonomous driving communication that’s filled with technical details and jargon. Shot from the point of view of the robotaxi, the campaign showcases bizarre scenarios from Vegas’ streets, from an Elvis impersonator cruising on a mini-scooter, to an alien skating down the road. Each motif is displayed alongside simple copy, emphasising that, in the face of unexpected situations, the robotaxi is smart enough to react accordingly.

Sarah Buggle, Creative Director at Jung von Matt Spree, explains: “The key highlight of the campaign is its style of communication; it rejects complex technical language that can leave people confused, disconnected, even mistrustful of autonomous vehicles, and instead offers a more relatable, real-world view of driverless tech.”

The campaign is launching this month worldwide across OOH, print and digital channels having kicked off initially with a DOOH placement in Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the premier global event for the latest in tech.

The campaign’s motifs were shot by Berlin-based photographer, Jules Esick, and post-produced by Recom Group Berlin. On-ground support in Las Vegas was provided by Fixer Films.

The IONIQ 5 robotaxi is an autonomous vehicle that can operate without a driver. According to Hyundai, driverless technology will significantly improve the safety of roads by eliminating accidents caused by human error, which will save millions of lives.

Hyundai believes the second benefit of autonomous vehicles is that they will provide a more accessible, affordable, and reliable form of transportation for everyone. The brand is focused on building its robotaxis to offer improved mobility options to a wide range of users across the world.

As this campaign underlines with spirit, the future for automotive brands is all about doing things differently.