Hasta La Creative!

Need a lift? Take this cool 90-second Pennzoil spot from J. Walter Thompson for a spin.

Stunt driver Rhys Millen hurtles through the streets of Cape Town, South Africa, in a canary yellow 707 horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat for much of the film, called “Airlift Drift,” promoting the client’s synthetic motor oil made from natural gas. Ultimately, his wild ride hits dizzying heights as four helicopters hoist the vehicle on a specially designed asphalt-topped platform. The car continues to drift and burn rubber like mad as it soars through the night sky, past glittering downtown skyscrapers.

That’s one breathtaking aerial exhibition. Suck it, Jaguar!

In fairness, Jag’s high-wire stunt last week above the River Thames, while less riveting, was 100 percent real. Pennzoil’s sky driving—well, obviously, not so much.

“Everything from the get-go was rooted in the idea of realism,” JWT Atlanta ecd Jeremy Jones assures AdFreak. “The load capacity of the helicopters, the chains, the shape of the platform and support beams. It’s all mathematically and theoretically possible.”

If the concept seems familiar, that’s because “Airlift Drift” director Ozan Biron, working here through production firm The Embassy, also directed last year’s “Ultimate Racetrack,” which showcased a BMW M4’s tread-tearing trip around the deck of an aircraft carrier. “We learned he was the magician behind ‘Ultimate Racetrack,’ and we had to have him,” Jones says. “He’s a complete car guy, and pushes the driving to crazy levels. It’s so raw and uncommercial.”

Pennzoil has worked especially hard to avoid category clichés in recent campaigns. “We believe cars have evolved. So should your oil—and oil commercials, for that matter,” says Jones. “There are no product claims, no V.O. bottle pours. We want people to be moved and have a visceral reaction to the film, hear nothing but the sound of the engine being pushed to the limit.”

He adds, “The problem with our category is most people outside of enthusiasts don’t care enough about cars to care which motor oil to use. With this film, we’re hoping to wake people up … to become that little ripple in pop culture and get people to think differently about our brand.”

CREDITS
Client: Pennzoil

Agency: J. Walter Thompson Atlanta
Perry Fair: Chief Creative Officer
Jeremy Jones: Executive Creative Director
Dustin Tamilio: Group Creative Director
John Huddleston: Copywriter
Erin Fillingam: Art Director
Daryll Merchant: Producer
Erin McGivney: Account Director
James Robbins: Senior Planner

Production Company: The Embassy, Vancouver
Director: Ozan Biron
Executive Producer: Trevor Cawood
Editor: Ozan Biron
Assistant Editor / Conformist: Brendan Woollard  (Cycle Media)
Director of Photography: Manoel Ferreira

Visual Effects: Imagine Engine
Visual FX Supervisor – Bernhard Kimbacher
Onset Supervisor  – Neil Impey

Precision Driver: Rhys Millen

Content Production Company: Lemonade Films
Executive Producer: Ted Herman
Production Supervisor: Philip Fyfe

South African Service Company: Uncle Morris Films
Line Producer – Steven St Arnaud
Production Manager – Herman Warnich
Prod Coordinator – Andrea Scott

Colorist: Dave Hussey, Company 3

Sound Design: Charles Deenen, Source Sound LA