Leo UK and Škoda UK are tackling outdated stereotypes about electric car drivers in a new campaign, ‘Electric, but Škoda’.

Aimed at people unsure about switching to electric, the campaign playfully challenges labels like “tech bros” and “hipsters.” It runs across TV, cinema, social, and digital, and highlights Škoda’s electric vehicle range.

At the centre is a 60-second film by Leo Burnett. Set in a British cul-de-sac, it shows a new family moving in with an electric car.

As their charging point is installed, neighbours gossip that they might be “part of a cult,” “tree huggers,” or have “paid for their car with crypto.” But when the family arrives, they turn out to be completely normal.

Shorter 45-second films on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok feature the same neighbours encouraging viewers to rethink EV stereotypes like “hipstery hummus-eating smoothie drinkers” and “tech bros with Bluetooth bellybuttons.” Cutdowns of 20 and 6 seconds are used across social media.

Mark Elwood, Chief Creative Officer, Leo UK, said: “Tapping into the everyday conversations of the nation is what we do best. Quintessentially British, we can all recognise certain elements of the characters in our campaign, they live next door or just down the street. This campaign celebrates the quirks that can only be found in British communities – though this comes with an important message, we hope helps everyone see that the switch to electric isn’t that scary after all.”

Kirsten Stagg, Marketing Director, Škoda UK, said: “There is a trend in the auto industry to treat electric cars like a totally new category, reinforcing this sense of ‘otherness’, which is keeping many people from trading in their petrol and diesel cars. With this campaign, we wanted to give drivers the sense that Škoda makes great cars and some of them just happen to be electric. It positions us as the approachable yet desirable entry point to EVs and continues our strategy of using bold creative to grab attention.”