In Uzbekistan, the car market has operated by its own rules for decades. Men buy and sell cars, negotiate prices, check documents, and ask friends and resellers for advice. The whole process has become deeply rooted in everyday culture and is still largely offline. But as the country develops, the consumer experience is changing too. More and more familiar processes are moving online and buying a car is also looking for a new way to happen.
Problem
Uzum Auto entered the market as a new way to buy and sell cars online. We needed not only to introduce the service and explain its features, but also to quickly integrate a new product into an already established car culture. At the same time, the category had long been using the same language: serious men, masculinity, strength, bargaining, and the traditional car market. Instead of competing with this image, we decided to reinterpret it and find a way to show a new car-buying experience through a cultural code that was already familiar to the audience.
Solution
We created the “Muzhiks’ Manifesto” – a humorous musical about how the car market is no longer what it used to be. In Uzbekistan, men love to dance, but usually only when it feels appropriate: at weddings, celebrations and big family gatherings. On the street, it’s the complete opposite — a man is expected to be serious, composed and as businesslike as possible. So we did something no one expected: we made car dealers sing and dance right in the middle of the car market. The main character was the iconic Uzbek comedian Shukurullo Isroilov, while a simple, repetitive jingle – “Sell your car. Buy your car.” — sung in a distinctly local style became the musical foundation of the communication. We deliberately kept it short, simple and repetitive, so it would stick in the audience’s mind. As a result, the familiar male-dominated car market turned into a musical, while the transition from offline to digital was told through songs, dance, humour and a cultural code the audience already knew and loved.
Results
The campaign launched just one month ago, but has already delivered significant growth across key metrics: installs +120%, DAU +95%, WAU +60%, total users +116%, new users +109%, returning users +135%, calls +150%, clicks on listing cards +170%, interest in car loans +176%, and listings +192%. The impact was also visible in the audience’s reaction. Users started saying that the ad had “gotten stuck in their heads,” that they were seeing it everywhere, and that they had already started repeating the jingle themselves. P.S. A week after the campaign launched, Shukurullo Isroilov was appointed Deputy Head of the Tashkent Department of Culture. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev also awarded him an order, noting that he had always remembered his work. Coincidence? We don’t think so.
