Škoda puts the ‘Shhh’ into its name in a national brand campaign
- Aug 4
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
On 24 July 2026 Škoda UK and agency Leo UK launched a nationwide campaign that turns the háček accent above the Š — and the ‘shhh’ sound people make saying the name correctly — into a participation-led brand platform spanning TV, cinema, OOH, social and a Waterloo station takeover.
A pronunciation quirk becomes the whole idea
The campaign takes the little accent most people ignore and makes it the star, spinning out playful variants like ‘Šmart’, ‘Špacious’ and ‘Štylish’ and inviting the public to ‘put the Shhh into Škoda’. It runs across TV (60, 30 and 6-second films), cinema, print, OOH, social and influencer, with an ITV Showcase drama sponsorship, a Waterloo station takeover and Elizabeth Line placements. PHD handles media.
It's a classic distinctive-asset play: take something you already own — your name — and dramatise it so people can't un-see it.
Why ‘joinability’ beats cleverness
Škoda's creative director Graham Lakeland framed the strategy well: “Great creative gives people a reason to join in.” The genius of the ‘shhh’ is that it's a sound everyone can make; the campaign hands audiences a tiny action rather than just a message to absorb.
Marketing director Kirsten Stagg admitted the Š “has always been part of our identity, but we've never really given it centre stage.” That's the lesson: the strongest distinctive asset is often one a brand has been sitting on and underusing for years.
Marketing Minute's read: your best asset may already be in your name
Our take: this is cheap fame done properly. Škoda isn't inventing a mascot or a jingle from scratch — it's mining an asset it already owns and making it unmistakably theirs. For a challenger in a crowded auto market, owning a sound is a durable advantage.
The transferable move for smaller UK brands: audit what you already have — a name, a spelling, a colour, a founder's habit — before commissioning something new. Distinctiveness you already own is faster to build fame around and far cheaper to sustain than a concept bolted on from outside.
Quick FAQ
What is the Škoda ‘Shhh’ campaign?
A national brand platform by Leo UK, launched 24 July 2026, built around the háček accent over the Š and the ‘shhh’ sound of pronouncing Škoda correctly, running across TV, cinema, OOH, social and influencer.
Which agencies made it?
Leo UK led the creative, with PHD handling media planning and buying.
What can smaller brands learn from it?
Build fame around distinctive assets you already own — a name, spelling or sound — rather than inventing new devices from scratch. It's cheaper and quicker to make memorable.
— Alicia Morris, Creative & Campaigns Writer at Marketing Minute
Škoda's ‘shhh’ proves the best distinctive asset is often one you already own and under-use — dramatise it, make it joinable, and let the public do the rest.
What distinctive asset is your brand already sitting on — and are you actually using it?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Creative Salon, DecisionMarketing, Leo UK and Roastbrief.
Related reading
Written by Alicia Morris, Creative & Campaigns Writer at Marketing Minute
Comments