A new automobile and its innovative driving technology are cleverly showcased in this commercial for the Citroen C2VTR—without us seeing the car itself until the last few parting seconds. The spot opens on a man lying down on a couch. He’s wringing his hands for reasons not yet clear to us. In fact, at the time, the hand flexing seems like an incidental mannerism. Also appearing to be incidental is a shot of the man’s shoes tucked at the foot of the sofa.
However, the shoes and his hands prove to be anything but a footnote. Instead they are essential elements to the feat he is about to perform. At first, we see those shoes walking down some steps. The camera reveals that the man’s hands are in the shoes as he’s walking upside down, his bare feet thrusting skywards. This stroll takes us through city streets, down an alley, across a boulevard, along a bench, across an intersection and up an escalator.
Various bystanders that the man passes by seem to be oblivious to his grandstand handstand as he makes his way across town. Other comic touches also come into play, like the man’s perspective on the world demonstrated in a single shot—his upside-down POV of a little dog on a leash. Interestingly, the dog is the only observer who seems to notice that this guy is a bit out of the ordinary.
Finally, the man arrives at his destination—the top floor of a parking garage, where his car is located. Fortunately, the driver’s side window of the vehicle is open, allowing the man to go bare feet-first into the car. He lands seated in front of the steering wheel. As he embarks on a more relaxing mode of transportation, his hands—now out of the shoes—are operating a curious-looking feature mounted on the steering wheel.
A super appears that reads, "Use your hands for a change." As we see the automobile drive off, a voiceover explains, "The new Citroen C2VTR—with hand touch gear control." The spot ends with the Citroen logo.
Aptly titled "Handy," the :50 commercial was directed by Christian Loubek of bicoastal Anonymous Content for agency Partners BDDH, London.
The agency team consisted of creatives Steve Nichols and Matthew Anderson, and producer Alison Mayhew.
Lisa Margulis executive produced for Anonymous Content, with Gregg Cundiff serving as line producer. The DP was Steve McGehee. Production designer was Jeanne Develle.
Editor was Jon Stefansson of bicoastal Cosmo Street; assistant editor was Tommy Immer. Colorist was Jeff Tillotson of Flying Spot, Seattle. Audio post mixer was Dave Cooper of Scramble, London.
Music composer was Andy Rohrmann of Scientific American, Seattle.
The hand walker was Vladimir Tevlovsky.
