Hyundai claims 2023 represents the start of a new era for the brand in the UK where a new marketing campaign has an interesting objective. Through an advertisement featuring the Ioniq 5 electric crossover, the automaker wants to change the brand’s pronunciation from the more English “Hy-un-dai” to “Hyun-day”. According to the brand, the latter represents global pronunciation and better reflects Korean heritage.
To spread the word about this somewhat unusual change, Hyundai has created a new ad that takes place at several fictitious (and similarly pronounced) small businesses in town: High ‘n’ Dye hair salon, eyewear specialist Highland Eye, a Hawaiian Tie shop, and High End Pie bakery. The gist of the 30-second clip is: “If you think you know our cars and how to say our names, maybe it’s time to think again.”
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Ashley Andrew, Managing Director of Hyundai Motor UK:
“Hyundai is a young, innovative and progressive brand that has transformed very quickly. We are proud to be Korean with character and real purpose. With this campaign, we wanted to inject a bit of humor and personality into our brand which we hope will encourage more people to learn more about Hyundai.”
While Kia has changed its logo to keep up with the great progress the company has made in recent decades, sister brand Hyundai has so far refrained from updating its corporate image. The two were hard at work preparing what would eventually become an all-electric lineup, with products like the Ioniq 5 and EV6 leading the way. 2023 will see the launch of the larger Ioniq 7 and EV9, which will be joined by the already-revealed Ioniq 6 sedan and the upcoming Ioniq 5 N high-performance model.
Despite the EV push, neither South Korean brand is ready to ditch the internal combustion engine as ICE-powered cars will remain on sale in Europe until 2035. However, that is the end of the Kia Stinger’s journey as a V6-powered engine. the gran tourer will be discontinued later this year after the final batch of 1,000 units represents the Tribute Edition.
