SAN FRANCISCO — July 13, 2026 — Anyone who’s rented a car knows the feeling. You reserve the sleek SUV shown online, wait in line at the rental counter, and drive away in something completely different.
Turo, the car rental marketplace, is giving that all-too-common experience a name.
Today, Turo launches “Carfished,” a new global campaign created with independent award-winning creative agency, L&C, that shines a light on one of traditional car rental’s biggest frustrations: booking one vehicle but receiving another. Borrowing from the familiar idea of being “catfished,” the campaign introduces “carfished” as the feeling of expecting one car and ending up with something entirely different.
But with Turo, that doesn’t happen.
Because every vehicle is managed by a host, users can browse and rent a specific car—not just a vehicle category. The car they choose is the exact car waiting for them, eliminating the surprises that have become synonymous with traditional rental companies. That piece of mind is especially valuable as more than half of Americans have plans to hit the road for their summer vacations this year, and 48% of those travelers expect to be in the car for at least 10 hours.
“The traditional rental car industry has spent decades conditioning travelers to accept the bait-and-switch as a standard cost of business. We’ve all experienced that dread at the counter—showing up only to be handed a completely different vehicle than the one we booked,” says David Corns, Chief Marketing Officer at Turo. “With Turo, the exact car you rent is the exact car you get. Rent a car, not a rental car, and stop getting Carfished.”
“The beauty of this campaign lies in the insight,” said Gian Carlo Lanfranco, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Creative Officer at L&C. “Almost everyone has experienced the disappointment of arriving at a traditional rental counter only to be handed a car that looks nothing like the one they booked—smaller, older, or simply different. We’ve all been ‘carfished’ at some point. By tapping into that universal experience, we’re able to highlight a benefit that only Turo can truly own. We believe it’s a simple, relatable idea that can resonate with audiences around the world.”
Turo recently rescued a traveler who shared their real experience with being carfished online. TikTok creator Regional Jet Regular, booked a Jeep Wrangler from a traditional rental car company, only to find a GMC van waiting for him at the start of his trip. After hearing about the nightmare, Turo stepped in quickly to get him into the exact car he envisioned for his trip.
Launching across Turo’s key global markets, the campaign will appear across digital video, social media, connected TV and additional online channels, supported by shorter executions that reinforce the central message: with Turo, what you rent is what you drive.
As travelers increasingly value transparency, personalization and greater control over their experiences, “Carfished” continues Turo’s mission of reinventing rental by challenging outdated conventions and proving that a better way to rent a car already exists.
