The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2025–2026
Hyundai Puerto Rico swaps rental-car lock beeps for the coquí's song — Cannes GP
After a tourist mocked Puerto Rico's coquí frog, Hyundai and BBDO replaced rental-car lock sounds with its real call — the Cannes 2026 Audio Grand Prix.
Hyundai Puerto Rico
What it had to solve
A tourist posted on Reddit asking how to silence the coquí, the tiny frog whose night call is Puerto Rico's signature sound; locals responded by defending it as the sound of home. Hyundai Puerto Rico, which rents cars to visitors across the island, saw a chance to celebrate the icon rather than argue with the tourist.
How it works
In 2025 a tourist posted on Reddit asking how to silence the coquí — the tiny frog whose distinctive night call is one of Puerto Rico's most recognizable sounds. The question provoked an outpouring of Puerto Ricans defending the coquí as the sound of home, turning a complaint into a cultural moment.
Hyundai Puerto Rico and BBDO Puerto Rico responded by replacing the standard lock and unlock beep on rental vehicles with the authentic call of the coquí. The modification rolled out across rental partners Enterprise, AVIS and Charlie Car Rental, so every locked or unlocked rental car greeted visitors with the island's true voice; each car also carried information about the frog's ecological and cultural importance.
The response went beyond tourism: customers began asking to have the sound installed on their own cars, and the campaign raised awareness that of the 14 known coquí species, three are at risk of extinction. At Cannes Lions 2026 the work won the Grand Prix in Audio & Radio, with jury president Oriel Davis-Lyons praising a 'truly audio idea' whose impact on Hyundai's business was 'very real and very impressive.'
Why it lands
- It takes the side of local culture in a viral argument instead of staying neutral or defensive.
- The idea lives in a daily interaction — locking a rental car — so thousands of visitors experience the story without seeing an ad.
- Using the real biological call makes the gesture authentic and doubles as conservation education.
- Sound is the product: the campaign redefined what an audio idea can be, which is why the audio jury honored it.
What it did
The campaign won the Grand Prix in Audio & Radio at Cannes Lions 2026 — BBDO Puerto Rico's first Cannes Lion — after a Silver at El Ojo 2025. The jury called it a 'truly audio idea' whose impact on Hyundai's business was 'very real and very impressive,' and it turned a defensive viral moment into a participatory sound-of-home movement.
What you can take
Take the side of the culture being attacked: instead of answering a complaint, adopt the thing itself and put it into every daily touchpoint — the audience becomes the campaign's defenders.
Since then
Coquí Alarmed became Hyundai Puerto Rico's most honored work: the Grand Prix in Audio & Radio at Cannes Lions 2026, BBDO Puerto Rico's first Cannes Lion, following a Silver at El Ojo 2025. The coquí lock/unlock call remains on participating rental vehicles, and request-by-request adoption by local owners kept the sound spreading. Hyundai Motor Company cited the win as part of a second consecutive Cannes Grand Prix year, after Night Fishing in 2025.
Sources
- Campaña 'Coquí Alarmed' de Hyundai Puerto Rico gana importante premio en los Cannes Lions
- Puerto Rico and Peru Punch Above Weight in Cannes with 2 Grands Prix Each
- Cannes Lions 2026 : Hyundai Motor remporte le Grand Prix pour la 2e année d'affilée
- BBDO Puerto Rico se alzó con el GP de Audio & Radio
- Hyundai - Coquí Alarmed: How A Frog Boosted Puerto Rico's National Pride
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