Tyre brand Hankook is looking to drive growth by shunning category norms and leaning on humour as it launches its first major campaign in the UK and across Europe.
Rather than focusing on performance or safety – as is typical of the sector – the Korean brand is instead urging people to think about anything but their tyres.
With ‘Live your life. Leave tyres to us’, Hankook is looking to tap into a truth that most drivers do not think about the tyres on their car, unless something has gone.
The campaign, which was created with Innocean, brings this to life via Hank, a retired mechanic and the star of a humour-led content series across digital and television. Since retirement, Hank has explored new passions, from pottery to knitting to meditation, and has been sharing his journey with the internet. But each endeavour brings him back to his first love – tyres.
Tyre brand Hankook is looking to drive growth by shunning category norms and leaning on humour as it launches its first major campaign in the UK and across Europe.
Rather than focusing on performance or safety – as is typical of the sector – the Korean brand is instead urging people to think about anything but their tyres.
With ‘Live your life. Leave tyres to us’, Hankook is looking to tap into a truth that most drivers do not think about the tyres on their car, unless something has gone.
The campaign, which was created with Innocean, brings this to life via Hank, a retired mechanic and the star of a humour-led content series across digital and television. Since retirement, Hank has explored new passions, from pottery to knitting to meditation, and has been sharing his journey with the internet. But each endeavour brings him back to his first love – tyres.
“It’s very important to us that he doesn’t become a laughable character or a goofy character,” explains Filip Pawelka, director marketing and communication for Hankook Europe.
Hank is designed to be an educational figure, someone who can remind consumers to check their tyre pressure before trips, as well as being a personified extension of the brand.
“What we’re trying to say with this is you live your life and we’ll give you the information that you need about tyres in a really cool, digestible way, where you don’t have to go out of your way,” he tells Marketing Week.
More broadly, Hankook is trying to do something “more fun” as he believes “advertising in the tyre industry is very traditional”.
“We wanted to do something that stands out in the landscape. We don’t want to go away from our core DNA [..] but we want to do it in a way that raises attention versus just the ordinary showing the product,” he adds.
However, he remains grounded in terms of what Hankook is able to achieve. “We’re not delusional,” says Palweka. “We know that [Hankook] is not going to be all of a sudden your favourite product [but] we want to make it more fun.”
He explains that while some people may be broadly aware of the brand’s existence, the team wants Hankook to connect with people in a more personable way, and for more people to be aware of the specifics of the brand.
Raising awareness and strengthening its brand will be key for Hankook, given data accessed by Marketing Week suggests its brand health is generally lower compared to others in the category. According to YouGov BrandIndex, the firm’s index score, which is an overall measure of brand health, averages at 3.7 for the year ending 15 July 2025. That figure is lower than other market competitors, such as Bridgestone (11.2), Goodyear (13), and Michelin (15.6), positioning it as somewhat of a challenger brand.
Awareness is also lower against its competitors with a score of 26.6%, while Bridgestone sits at 57.6%, Goodyear 74.8% and Michelin as the highest with 83.8%.
We wanted to do something that stands out in the landscape.
Filip Pawelka, Hankook Europe
The data suggests Hankook has its work cut out, which is where the digital elements of the campaign come in. Palweka suggests the tyre market has been slow to embrace social and digital marketing, which creates an opportunity for Hankook.
The team is looking for “reactions from customers”. He says engagement is the number one KPI goal. “Why? It starts with likes. It starts with shares,” he says.
He continues: “The more people engage with the brand, the more likely the brand is the stick in their minds, the more likely you’ll have a positive view of the brand [and then] the more likely it’s going to influence their decision to purchase.”
Sponsorships
The tyre brand is possibly most familiar among fans of motorsport and football thanks to its various sponsorship deals, which Palweka says it will continue to invest in as they have been its main awareness driver in Europe to date.
He explains: “Sponsorships in that scope are mainly helping you create awareness for your brand and then later on maybe also for specific products among [B2C customers]. And on the other hand, it’s very important for us on the B2B front because they help us build those relationships with our partners […] we can build a bridge, we can create moments together.”
Hankook’s European football sponsorships, primarily with UEFA’s Europa League and Europa Conference League, offer brand exposure through pitch side advertising and digital campaigns. The brand also has high-profile affiliations with teams such as Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid and the prestigious Ballon d’Or competition.
We’ll give you the information that you need about tyres in a really cool, digestible way.
Filip Pawelka, Hankook Europe
However, in motorsport, there is an added element to this. Hankook is the exclusive tyre supplier for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. It also provides tyres for the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series and will supply the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) from 2025, something that Palweka describes as “a proof of concept.”
“If our product can perform at a great level in the most extreme of conditions then you as a consumer, or you as a dealer, can be sure you’re buying a good product because there’s a DNA of designing and performance,” he concudes.
