This European spot begins like an automobile-hugging-the-road performance demo, nurtured by a fashion/beauty sense of cinematography. A Nissan is shown being put through its paces in a brightly lit, modern, curving tunnel. An edit brings us to a thoroughfare covered by a sheet of water, which the car navigates with ease and precision.
But in a matter of seconds, the journey becomes surreal. Although the car continues its drive through an idealistic Old World cityscape, a dolphin leaps from the shallow water, as if from an ocean. Soon other dolphins appear, in arcing leaps alongside the moving car. While in and of itself incredible, the combination of land and sea pales by comparison to the combination of vehicle and mammals joyfully traveling aquatic urban streets.
A supered message puts it all in context: "Intelligence attracts intelligence."
We return to the dolphins—two on either side of the Nissan—keeping pace with the automobile. As the car moves out of frame and a graceful tail disappears under water for the last time, a woman’s voiceover and accompanying text against a black background introduce us to the brand-new Nissan Primera: "a new form of intelligence." The spot ends with the Nissan logo and the appropriate slogan: "Shift Expectations."
Simply titled "Dolphins," this :40 was directed by Rupert Sanders of London-based Outsider for TBWA Paris. (Sanders is represented in the U.S. by Santa Monica-based Omaha Pictures.) "Dolphins" was co-produced by Outsider and St. Cloud, France-based Premiere Heure. The ad debuted throughout much of Europe last month.
Among the TBWA creative ensemble were creative director/art director Mehdi E. Hadj, creative director/copywriter Ivan Pierens, art director Chris Lynch, and producers Evelyne Luverdis and Sacha Adamon.
Sanders’ support team included Outsider managing director/executive producer Robert Campbell, and producers Paul McPadden of Outsider and Celine Quideau for Premiere Heure. The spot was shot in Genoa, Italy, and Lisbon, Portugal, by DP Jess Hall.
The car was shot separately in the streets and against green screen. The dolphins and the car were lensed at a dolphin park. The footage from the shoots was then seamlessly meshed to create a fantasy that plays like reality. Serving to heighten the spot’s impact is the fact that it begins like a fairly typical, yet beautifully captured, car-driving sequence—with the camera romancing the moving sheet metal against a constantly changing picturesque backdrop. The introduction of water seems to illustrate the Nissan’s ability to glide effortlessly through any road condition. But just when you think you’ve got the commercial pegged, it becomes an aquatic marvel, bringing together man, machine and, unexpectedly, a dolphin. Just as importantly, the surprise mammal connotes intelligence, reflecting well on the just-debuted Primera.
"Dolphins" was edited by Neil Smith, who at the time was with OBE Partnership, London. He has since joined The Whitehouse Post Productions, Ltd., London (which also has operations in New York, Chicago and Santa Monica). Smith also served as sound designer on the spot. Christian Forget and James Senade of Premiere Heure were postproduction producer and Flame operator, respectively. The music by trip-hop band Portishead was licensed from Sony Music.
