Volvo Really Takes the Plunge in Powerful Ad That Leaves the Car on Shore Grey London's 'The Swell'ByDavid Gianatasio
September 29, 2014, 1:02 PM EDT
In its first global campaign for Volvo, Grey London strives for a "quietly epic" tone to position the Swedish nameplate more firmly in the premium auto space. Director Marcus Söderlund, working through Academy Films, delivers the goods with a visually compelling minute-long film called The Swell.
We open on a moonlit beach, where a Volvo XC60 sits in the sand, the hum of its radio melding with the sounds of the sea. "To feel, to really feel, is a rare thing these days," a voiceover says. We watch a woman paddle her surfboard through dark, choppy water as a huge wave rises with thunderous force … and the tagline, "Seek feeling," flashes on screen.
The Swell weaves its tale in moody hues, offering glimpses of the car as it focuses on the lonely surfer and approaching wave. (Söderlund also directed Grey London's fiery Vodafone ad about emergency responders.)
It's an unexpected approach, and the first campaign from global creative director Hollie Newton, who joined Grey last year from Wieden + Kennedy, where she contributed toaward-winning efforts for Lurpak butter. For Lurpak, she designed sensory experiences with cheeky, playful subtexts that reminded viewers not to take the ads too seriously.
The Swell shares this "sensory" sensibility, but ratchets up the intensity to a point where I imagine some viewers might be put off. Even so, Grey deserves credit for making a commercial that ripples with energy without drowning in car-ad clichés.
Wednesday, 8 October 2014
Melbourne indie wins global pitch for Suzuki Swift ad
Full-service independent agency The Sanford Partnership has created a new global campaign for Suzuki Swift after winning a competitive pitch for the work.
The new campaign sees some Melbourne laneway street art come to life to chase the vehicle around the city, before turning into a real man.
D Graeme Stanford said: “We have a really strong relationship with Suzuki Australia and now to again be awarded this global responsibility by Suzuki Japan, is extremely gratifying”.
The campaign includes 45, 30 and 15 second TV spots which are supported by magazines, online, outdoor and point-of-sale.
It launched during Suzuki’s sponsorship of Channel 9’s The Block: Glasshouse.
Credits:
Agency: The Sanford Partnership
Managing Director: Graeme Sanford
Creative Director: Matt Burgess
Art Director / Copywriter: Matt Burgess
Agency Producer: Jo Alach
Account Service: Daniel Loukidis / Sophie Norman
Client: Suzuki Motor Corporation
General Manager Suzuki Automobiles: Andrew Moore
Production Company: Zoom Film & Television
Director: Mark Toia
Producer: Keri Grant
Animation: Liquid Animation
Sound/Composing: Nylon
Photography: Garry Moore, Miss Bossy Boots
Monday, 28 July 2014
Fathers Will Love This Citroën Ad With a Dad Who Has Extremely Clingy Kids Where can he find some relief? By Gabriel Beltrone
June 25, 2014, 9:27 AM EDT
It's a lot harder for a father to have fun, whatever he's doing, while his three young kids are clinging to his body at the same time.
This parenting-humor ad, aptly titled "Daddy," won a silver Lion in the Film category at Cannes last week for French automaker Citroën and Havas agency Les Gaulois.
Photographing birds, taking tango lessons and playing soccer are just a few of the hobbies that lose some of their charm for a man encumbered by his offspring. Because it's a car commercial, driving is the one thing he stills find enjoyable, with his brats somehow docile in the backseat—or at least physically off his person for a moment. (In reality, everyone knows those kids are still kicking and screaming for the whole ride.)
The ad—one of the most pro-father spots we've seen in a while—presents the same sight gag over and over again, but it stays funny because it's more or less true in spirit, a nice visual metaphor for the exhaustion that comes with hauling kids through their early years.
In fact, the character here must be the same guy as the dad from this Coca-Cola Life ad from Argentina (which won gold in Cannes) … just a few more years down the line.
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Push it: Kia shows Salt-N-Pepa still got it, and so has mum
While there may be an ongoing wrangle between ousted Innocean boss Mike Morrison and his former Kia paymasters, the agency has served up its latest add for the Koran car brand as part of its Fifa World Cup sponsorship on SBS and it's a cracker.
Eighties legends Salt-N-Pepa show how it's done in a Kia Sportage. The strapline is grow up, not old.
Mother and daughter push it real goo suburban style to pick up low fat milk at the behest of the old man, i.e. dad.
Salt-N-Pepa have still got it, and so has mum. And with the firm known for it's quality and long warranties, there will hopefully be no need to physically push it.
Watch Chelsea Boss Jose Mourinho discuss his 'fearful personality' in brilliant new Jaguar clip
The Blues boss is regarded as being fearless after a hugely successful managerial career but he claims he is driven by the opposite - which makes him so dangerous
Often referred to as the 'master of mind games', Jose Mourinho has revealed an insight into his fascinating personality.
Here, the Portuguese takes part in Jaguar's #LiveFearless campaign and discloses the microexpressions he tries to hide from the world of football, including raised eyebrows and widened eyes.
And interestingly, Mourinho admits his apparent fearless persona is infact driven by the exact opposite.
"The things I dare to say, the aims I rush to achieve, they are fuelled by fear.
"Every ambitious man is this way. He will try to mask it but if you look closely, you will read fear on his face."
In typical Mourinho-fashion he ends the clip in style, stating: "A man fuelled by fear is a man to be feared."
Ad of the Day: Cadillac, Spike Lee Tell Teddy Bridgewater's Touching Mother's Day Story A pink Escalade for RoseBy Roo Ciambriello
May 9, 2014, 9:52 AM EDT
A promise kept by the first-round NFL draft pick
When Teddy Bridgewater was 9 years old, he promised his mother Rose that when he made it to the NFL, he would buy her a pink Cadillac Escalade.
The first part of Bridgewater's dream came true on Thursday night. The Miami native and University of Louisville quarterback was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 32nd and final pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.
Cadillac caught wind of the second part of his dream, about the pink Escalade, and helped make it come true. The gift reveal is included in the seven-minute film below, directed by Spike Lee, about Teddy and his family. The color choice is made doubly meaningful as Rose is a breast cancer survivor.
I haven't been the biggest fan of Cadillac lately, but this is a nice move. And pro athletes are certainly stepping up with beautiful tributes to their moms this week—following Kevin Durant's moving speech, which is now an NBA ad.
Hats off to Teddy, and a very Happy Mother's Day to Rose.
Chief Creative Officer: Lance Jensen Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director, Copy: Dave Banta Senior Vice President, Group Creative Director, Art: Kevin Daley Vice President, Associate Creative Director, Art: Khari Streeter Vice President, Creative Director, Copy: Lawson Clarke Chief Execjtive Officer, Chief Creative Officer: Spike Lee, Spike DDB Executive Creative Director: Dabo Che, Spike DDB Creative Director: Rachel Donovan, Spike DDB Creative Director, Digital: Matthew Zelley Account Team: Megan Wiggin, Clifford Stevens, Emily Shahady, Kristen Selasky, Riyhana Bey, Geneika Lewis, Kaitlyn Sherman, Chad McLean Project Management: Paul Pantzer, Christy Costello Planner: Anne Feighan Executive Producer: Andrew Barnett Content, Social Media: John Dukakis, Jamie Scheu, Lora Stock Operations Manager, Assistant Producer: Robyn Ross Director of Operations, Integrated Production: Lizzie Haberman, Spike DDB
Production Company: 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks Executive Producer: Alex Wright Director: Spike Lee Director of Photography: Daniel Patterson Makeup: JoJo Rogriguez Stylist: Jessica Thornhill
Editing House: Lost Planet Editors: Jacks Genega, Ben Rodriguez Producers: Krystn Wagenberg, Kate McCormick Graphics Supervisor: Reginald William Butler
Music Houses: Amber Music; HiFi Creative Director: Paul Robb, HiFi Music Producer: Michelle Curren and Mike Perri, Amber; Jack Bradley, HiFi Music Composer: Robert DiPietro, HiFi
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Ford backs European Mustang launch with epic TV spot
Ford is backing the launch of its Mustang car in Europe with a multiplatform campaign that will allow customers to pre-order the vehicle during the Champions League final on Saturday 24 May.
The ad campaign, created by WPP’s creative agency for Ford, Blue Hive, includes a TV and cinema ad, print ads, a digital experience at Ford.com, social media and a pop-up shop where customers can pre-order one of the new cars.
Filip Tellander directed the TV spot, which features a Ford Mustang driving through empty European roads such as the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Regent Street in London, Piazza del Colosseo in Rome, through B-Reel.
The campaign was written and art directed by the creative director Steve Clarke. The print art director was Vangelis Tolias and the print photographer was Uwe Düttmann.
Karin Onsager-Birch, the executive creative director of Blue Hive, said: "We wanted to signal the arrival of an icon in Europe with something truly epic – the dream of the open road but retooled for a whole new continent."
The full 30-second ad airs for the first time on Thursday (22 May) as part of the campaign, which was planned and bought by WPP's Mindshare.
Ford is an official partner of the Uefa Champions League.
The first Mustang cars will be delivered in 2015.
Ad of the Day: Gus Van Sant Directs Trio of Breathtaking Spots for the BMW i8 Leaning on category conventions while upending them, tooBy David Griner
May 14, 2014, 11:51 AM EDT
Mickey Sumner: not your typical luxury-car spokesperson
Leave it to the auteur Gus Van Sant to take some of automotive advertising's biggest clichés—self-glorifying narration over footage of a luxury car in the desert—and somehow still turn them into something beautifully compelling.
Van Sant, best known for his Oscar-nominated directing of Hollywood hits Good Will Hunting and Milk, helmed three new spots for BMW's upcoming plug-in hybrid, the i8.
They are, as one would expect, artfully shot, using a shifting focal depth to bring some new perspective to the age-old images of a cutting-edge automobile tearing across barren wastelands. (Thankfully they're not salt flats for once.) And the minimalist visuals definitely help you focus on the car, whose sleek lines and sci-fi detailing are definitely not the usual BMW fare.
But it's the narration that truly drives the spots. Featuring actors Michael Pitt (Jimmy from Boardwalk Empire), Sam Hazeldine (Caleb on ABC's recently renewed Resurrection) and Mickey Sumner (co-star of Frances Ha), the ads describe the i8's unlikely evolution fromTron-like concept car to production reality.
"I am one no one believed, a vision, a dream, a crazy idea," intones Pitt, who played Kurt Cobain in Van Sant's Last Days. "I am millions of questions, the endless search for answers that no one has found before. Try, error. Try, error. Try, again and again."
The ads also bring something truly rare to a luxury car ad: a woman's voice.
Most high-priced car ads relegate women to looking elegant in long, flowing dresses while gently caressing the vehicle's curves. If women are shown actually driving a luxury car, it's usually some ridiculous art house scenario where they're fleeing a black-tie gala while throwing a head scarf out the window or some nonsense.
So, while it's not necessarily a Sandra Day O'Connor-level achievement to hear Sumner describing the innovative elegance of a hybrid sports car, it's a refreshing change from the ironic modern monopoly of Mad Men manly man voices Jon Hamm and John Slattery.
These are best viewed in full screen.
CREDITS Client: BMW Senior Vice President, Brand Management, Marketing Services: Steven Althaus Vice Presidents, Brand Management, Marketing Services: Andreas Christoph Hofmann, Wolfgang Breyer Head of International Advertising, Online, Social Media: Wolfgang Gross Project Manager, International Advertising, Brand Communication: Heiko Kircher
Agency: Serviceplan International GmbH & Co. KG Chief Creative Officer: Alexander Schill Executive Creative Director, Worldwide: Maik Kaehler Creative Directors: Nikolaus Ronacher, Nina Puri Head of Production: Sandra Niessen Agency Producer: Anne Hoffmann Managing Partner, International: Markus Noder Management Supervisor: Jens Hoffmann Account Directors: Melanie Blankenburg, Florian Klietz
Production Company: Iconoclast Director: Gus Van Sant Executive Producers: Charles-Marie Anthonioz, Nicolas Lhermitte Producer: Julien Lemaitre Director of Photography: Kasper Tuxen Postproduction: Angus Wall, A52, Rock Paper Scissors Music: B.C. Smith, Allessandro Cortini Sound, Design: Lime Studios
Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors Editors: Angus Wall, Jamie Foord, Grant Surmi, Austyn Daines Assistant Editors: Lauren Dellara, austyn Daines Executive Producer: Carol Lynn Weaver Producer: Lauren Wilson Head of Production: Angela Dorian
VFX Studio: a52 VFX Supervisor: Andy McKenna 2D VFX Artists: Andy Barrios, Richard Hirst, Steve Wolff, Stefan Gaillot, Matt Sousa, Cameron Coombs, Michael Plescia, Bruno Parenti Flame assistants: Dan Ellis & Kevin Stokes
Color: a52 Colorist: Paul Yacono Producer: Daughn Godd Ward Executive Producer: Megan Meloth, Jennifer Sofio Hall Head of Production: Kim Christensen
Mitsubishi is to Channel 4’s programming strand, Documentaries on 4.
The multimillion pound partnership, brokered by Manning Gottlieb OMD, began yesterday with the car brand’s idents, created by Golley Slater, running around the new series, Mr Drew’s School for Boys.
The idents, which state ‘Mitsubishi – changing perceptions with Documentaties on 4’ are part of the first sponsorship deal from the brand in three years.
Rupinder Downie, partnership controller, sponsorship, Channel 4, said: “Channel 4 has an enviable strength in broadcasting award winning, ground-breaking and educational documentaries that continue to inspire and provoke debate. We are proud to announce Mitsubishi Motors in the UK as the sponsor of our acclaimed Documentaries on 4 strand.”
Kate Woodward, general manager of communications at Mitsubishi Motors UK, added: “This sponsorship is a key part of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK’s continued growth, building on the success of 2013 and launching a sustained period of Broadcast activity for the first time since 2009.”
This year will see a the broadcaster run documentaries such as Freshers, and 24 Hours in Custody, which will focus on police detention and Marines.
ESPN Celebrates the Weird, Wonderful Time Warp That Happens During the World Cup Day or night, you're on Brazil timeBy Kristina Monllos
May 27, 2014, 3:52 PM EDT
We're only 16 days away from the start of the World Cup. And ESPN—which will present all 64 matches of the quadrennial tournament across the ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC networks—released its latest teaser commercial on Tuesday, this one devoted to the time warp that happens for viewers around the world every four years.
The spot, by Wieden + Kennedy in New York, feels like the beginning of an action movie where the team is getting together before a big heist—except here, we're seeing how different people around the world are getting ready for the World Cup. And wherever they are in the world, day or night, they'll be setting their countdown clocks to Brazil time.
The spot moves seamlessly from metropolis to metropolis, with business executives, children, fisherman, etc., getting ready for the event. It opens on a favela rooftop in Rio and goes around the world—to a pub in England, a social club in Ghana, a fishing boat off Spain, an apartment in Russia, a car heading to Tehran, a bar about to open at dawn in Japan, an office in Seattle, a family barbecue in Mexico and a research station in the Andes—before returning to Brazil.
"Every 4 years the world has one time zone," says the end line. (That follows a spot earlier this month that said, "Every 4 years the conversation starts again.")
Thanks to our longitudinal proximity to Brazil, Americans will see the matches at exceedingly humane hours, with kickoffs generally scheduled for noon, 3 p.m. or 6 p.m. ET. That's a lot better than other recent World Cups—in particular, the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea, whose daily slate of matches began at 2:30 a.m. and wrapped up shortly after breakfast.
ESPN Celebrates the Weird, Wonderful Time Warp That Happens During the World Cup Day or night, you're on Brazil timeBy Kristina Monllos
May 27, 2014, 3:52 PM EDT
We're only 16 days away from the start of the World Cup. And ESPN—which will present all 64 matches of the quadrennial tournament across the ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC networks—released its latest teaser commercial on Tuesday, this one devoted to the time warp that happens for viewers around the world every four years.
The spot, by Wieden + Kennedy in New York, feels like the beginning of an action movie where the team is getting together before a big heist—except here, we're seeing how different people around the world are getting ready for the World Cup. And wherever they are in the world, day or night, they'll be setting their countdown clocks to Brazil time.
The spot moves seamlessly from metropolis to metropolis, with business executives, children, fisherman, etc., getting ready for the event. It opens on a favela rooftop in Rio and goes around the world—to a pub in England, a social club in Ghana, a fishing boat off Spain, an apartment in Russia, a car heading to Tehran, a bar about to open at dawn in Japan, an office in Seattle, a family barbecue in Mexico and a research station in the Andes—before returning to Brazil.
"Every 4 years the world has one time zone," says the end line. (That follows a spot earlier this month that said, "Every 4 years the conversation starts again.")
Thanks to our longitudinal proximity to Brazil, Americans will see the matches at exceedingly humane hours, with kickoffs generally scheduled for noon, 3 p.m. or 6 p.m. ET. That's a lot better than other recent World Cups—in particular, the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea, whose daily slate of matches began at 2:30 a.m. and wrapped up shortly after breakfast.
CREDITS Client: ESPN
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, New York Creative Directors: Brandon Henderson, Stuart Jennings, Gary Van Dzura, Caleb Jensen Art Director: Mathieu Zarbatany Copywriter: Andrew Jasperson Producer: Luiza Naritomi Executive Producer: Temma Shoaf Account Team: Casey Bernard, Katie Hoak, Alex Scaros
Production Company: Imperial Woodpecker Director: Stacy Wall Executive Producer: Doug Halbert Line Producer: Terry Shafirov Director of Photography: Corey Walter
Editorial Company: Final Cut Editor: Jeff Buchanan Assistant Editor: Geoff Hastings Post Producer: Beth Fitzpatrick
Visual Effects Company: MPC Senior Producer: Matthew Loranger Lead Flame Artist, Creative Director: Gigi Ng
Mix Company: Heard City Mixer: Philip Loeb Producer: Sasha Awn
Music Company: Travis + Maude Creative Director: David Wittman Producer: Kala Sherman
Monday, 9 June 2014
Classic Car Ads Dating back to the '60s
1957 Dodge
To accent the high-tech nature of the push button 1957 Swept-Wing Dodge, the car is compared with the latest in TV technology, offering us an opportunity to view a 1957 television camera close up.
This car was unique because you would actually change the gears by pushing buttons on the dashboard. Available with 'Torsion-Aire Ride,' four barrel carbs and a 354 cid Hemi V8. And don't forget the 'realm of silence' ride.
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1957 Dodge Trucks
The '57 Chevy is an American icon, but the Dodge pickup that year was its poor cousin. Still, the D100 half-ton was a solidly-designed truck, available for the first time with power brakes, power steering and a push-button, three-speed automatic transmission.
Observe what Dodge called the 'Giants of the Low Priced Three.' The 'Dodge Power Giants' were available in one-ton models with a 315 cid V8 engine packing 204 horsepower. You don't see many of these trucks restored and on the road today - they were all worked to death!
1957 Plymouth Sport Suburban
Fly the new Suburban - the latest in space-age design with fold-down rear seats and a back window that goes up and down with the flick of a switch. This ad used airplanes as a metaphor for the family car, a common theme in auto advertising. After all, this was the 'Jet Age.'
1958 Fords
A handful of celebrities gathered on a soundstage in 1957 to endorse this line of new Ford tank-like vehicles.
The announcer was future 20/20 host Hugh Downs, look for Arthur Godfrey, Dick Powell and Tennessee Ernie Ford (all popular on TV at the time) in this fall commercial than runs for over three minutes.
(With the 1956 models, the Ford Motor Company began to take passenger safety seriously with the introduction of padded instrument panels, sturdier steering wheels and seat belts. In spite of this, there was tremendous resistance on the part of consumers to using those seat belts.)
1958 Dodge
The American automakers really knew how to design cars in the fifties - and they got pretty sophisticated at selling them on television as well. That's because they had a lot of money to spend!
Dodge shot one of their 1958 model cars out of a cannon to prove their 'Swept-Wing' autos were sturdy enough to take the punishment. Heck, they designed the damn things like a bullet anyway!
They even stripped the car down to the chassis and shot it out of the cannon again to demonstrate durability. If you ever longed to see a '58 Dodge dissected to the skeleton and rolling down the road, this is the commercial for you!
1958 Buick
The '58 Buick had a lot of chrome and this spot gives you tight closeups of the remarkable metal work that adorned these 3,000 pound behemoths.
Cars with fins were on the way out by 1958 - Buick was lucky, they had the more subtle versions.The 'Airborne' B58 Buick was equipped with a B12000 engine and Dyna-Flow transmission.
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1961 Oldsmobiles
This is a prime example of a style of advertising that was popular decades ago, the big musical production number.
In this spot, ladies and gents dance and sing around the new Super 88, Dynamic 88, and Ninety-Eight luxury cars - a Rocket V-8 powered vehicle redesigned to be sleaker than the bulky designs earlier in the decade.
Look for pre-Brady Bunch mom Florence Henderson singing and dancing in this spot. She went from advertising cruise control to ooze control - Florence Henderson is now the spokesperson for Polident.
The Olds 88 was renamed Delta 88 in 1965.
1959 Chevrolet
In the expanding boom economy of the late fifties, television changed the face of advertising forever. Magazine readers and radio listeners were used to celebrity endorsements but with television you could actually see and hear your favorite star interacting with the sponsor's product in your own home - for the first time.
Pop star Dinah Shore starred in this exciting, elaborate presentation that was flawlessly executed; everyone looks great, the music is snappy and even the helicopter lands on cue; a fine example of old-school 'bigger-is-better' advertising dynamics at work.
This kind of big production number-style advertising came back in style briefly (and better than ever) in ads for Mountain Dew, Old Navy and The Gap in 2000 - but in the case of The Gap, it was a resounding sales failure.
These commercials were also subtle social cues as to which cars were meant for women or men.
1970 Plymouths
'Those Daring Young Meg In Their Flying Machines' was Plymouth's slogan for their failed attempt at marketing their fading, bloated (but stylish) 1970 muscle car line. If you're a fan of the '70 Barracuda or the GTX convertible, you'll love the shot of these large, lurking monsters roaring down the road. This was the last grasp for a proud line of hot cars. Muscle cars were massive in bulk and way too heavy by 1970, averaging a mere 8 miles a gallon. That had never been a problem with plentiful gas stocks, but the gasoline price hikes and oil embargoes of the early-seventies put all of Plymouth's muscle cars out to pasture by mid-decade.
1966 Mustang "Should a single girl buy a 1966 Mustang?" That's the burning question posed here. Success and marriage are right around the corner if you do, at least according to the fine folks at Ford.
The Ford Mustang introduced a new era in car making and merchandising - an affordable, sporty, small (by 60's standards), well-designed automobile marketed primarily to women. Enough men bought the Mustang that Ford repositioned it as a musle-car a few years later.
This year we’ve already seen Russell Crowe turn his hand to the Noah and the Ark fable, now it’s Nissan’s turn with its new ad directed by none other than Peter Thwaites, the man behind Honda’s ‘Museum’ and the ‘Clock’ and ‘Cloud’ ads for Guinness.
In this spot an ordinary country drive turns into the adventure of a lifetime when the heavens open and a loving father, assisted by his daughter, finds himself picking up a few friends (all in pairs of two, of course).
Created by TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles the creative aired for the first time in the US last night during the NBA Playoffs on TNT.
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
Mercedes Benz: World Cup 2014
This latest ad from Tempo for Mercedes features the German national football team, who the car brand are sponsoring in this year's FIFA World Cup. Set to Rudimental's hit track 'Not Giving In', we see a combination of car and football related shots, which move through the Mercedes logo, finishing up on a packed pitch full of supporters.
Honda highlights Space Invaders in ad for new City model
Honda is promoting its new City with a campaign playing on the car’s roomy interior and the battle in the city for personal space.
Created by Leo Burnett Melbourne, the commercial features a catchy tune about space invaders and features people battling the problem in different locations from the ATM line, to the car park to public transport before introducing the new City model as the solution, with the line “with all the room, features and technology you need, you can reclaim your personal space in the all new Honda City”.
Leo Burnett Melbourne executive creative director Jason Williams said: “After home and work, the car is technically our ‘third’ space. We spend a lot of our lives behind the wheel, so it’s important this space provides drivers with all the comfort, connectivity and room they desire. It should feel like their very own personal sanctuary.”
Launched last Sunday, the commercial, shot by The Sweet Shop’s Noah Marshall, is supported with cinema, outdoor, direct, online, social and dealer communications.
Honda Australia general manager communications and customer Jason Miller said: “Honda engineers have managed to do the impossible with the new Honda City by creating a light car that’s loaded with clever, compact-thinking both inside and out.”
Jaguar’s recently released Super Bowl commercial uses a trio of British actors and the cinematography of director Tom Hooper to delve into why all of the best movie villains come from across the pond.
In the 60-second ad, actors Sir Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston, and Mark Strong speak to the camera and posit that Brits make the best bad guys because “we’re more focused,” “we have a certain style,” and “maybe we just sound right.”
Along the way, the men use a fancy helicopter and two swerving Jaguar F-Type Coupes to meet at a high-tech command center in London. “Oh yes,” Kingsley remarks at the end of the ad. “It’s good to be bad.”
The commercial features an ominous original soundtrack that was composed and conducted by Alexandre Desplat, who worked with Hooper on “The King’s Speech,” and recorded by The London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road.
The “Good To Be Bad” campaign is being run by Jaguar’s creative agency, Spark 44, and its media agency, Mindshare, which hope to cast the brand as an edgy British outsider challenging mainstays like Porsche and Mercedes-Benz in the U.S. luxury market.
The campaign has also included a digital promotion aspect through a partnership between Jaguar and Gawker Media’s content studio. Gawker created a separate blog, called Good To Be Bad, that features sponsored content from Jaguar, original work from Gawker’s content studio, and posts shared from Gawker editorial blogs like Gizmodo and Lifehacker.
The posts focus on general villainy, with titles like “A Guide to World Domination in 2014″ and “Four Devious Female Archetypes in Film (And How To Act Like Them).”
Jaguar’s ad will run during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLVIII, which will be contested Feb. 2 at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.
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