Ford’s “Drive one” campaign, which debuted April 8, focuses on how the cars embody four pillars — quality, green, safe and smart, with www.forddriveone.com featuring webisodes in all four categories in which Ford employees talk about their work and the new technologies the company is introducing in its vehicles.
The webisodes were created by Team Detroit and produced by GMD Studios, Orlando, FL.
“They were looking for a voice for people within the company who could talk in detail about the specific pillars and drill down into the specific technology and ideas that have been developed at Ford, and drill down more than the :30 TV spots,” said Sam Walsh, executive producer at Team Detroit.
The website features four blue bars–Drive quality, Drive green, Drive safe and Drive smart, that can be clicked to play a webisode. Four new webisodes will be put up each week, with approximately 30 to be featured during the campaign, according to Paul Anderson, manager of Ford’s Cross Vehicle Marketing program.
Brian Clark, CEO of GMD Studios, said the company made 26 videos in the first round. They were shot “all over the map, from Ford headquarters to Los Angeles and Echo Bay. Most of the webisodes featured engineers who discussed things people wouldn’t know about the process. There are no episodes about cars like the Mustang, but there are shots of hybrid cars you can’t buy yet, like the Fusion 999 prototype, a hydrogen fuel cell race car that uses hydrogen gas with no emissions.”
“How Fast Can Green Go” combined footage of the Fusion 999 shot at the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwest Utah during a race event last August, when the Fusion 999 attained a speed of 207 mph. Clark used Ford footage from the event and shot an interview of Ford’s production engineer, Matt Zuehlk. They also shot new footage of five experimental vehicles. “We had the assets and we wanted to tell a documentary story, not sell the product,” Clark said.
The principal cameras Clark used were the Panasonic DVX100A with Letus lens adaptor and the Panasonic HVX200.
The webisodes currently play on the Forddriveone site. “The next step is socializing them in other places and it’s just being finalized,” Walsh said. “We’ll outreach them to various audiences through paid and viral syndication. Some auto industry sites have already picked them up.”
Ford’s “Drive one” campaign, which follows “Bold Moves” and “Swap Your Ride,” includes TV spots on American Idol and other top rated programs. The campaign seeks to motivate Ford employees and dealers as well as consumers. “The webisodes complement the TV spots, but give more information and tell a bigger story,” Anderson said.
Director Hans Emanuel Joins Caviar For Commercials and Music Videos
Production company Caviar has signed director Hans Emanuel for U.S. commercial and music video representation. The film and advertising director fuses his keen--and Berlinale Film Festival Award-winning--eye for cinematic storytelling with a commercial background across multiple genres including beauty, automotive, dance, and visual effects-heavy projects, to produce creative for clients like Kia, Nivea, Nissan, L’Oreal, BMW and more.
Caviar executive producer Salim El Arja noted, “Hans has a unique ability to blend stunning visuals with heart and humor, rooted in his confidence as a craftsman. This allows him to focus on drawing exceptional performances from actors--including celebrities--and crafting films that are not only visually striking but also deeply engaging and often hilariously comedic. His sensibilities align perfectly with Caviar’s vision, and we’re excited to collaborate with him on work that pushes creative boundaries.”
Emanuel added, “Caviar is a renowned name, certainly since I began my career. They have a solid reputation for quality work, and I’ve always respected them as a company. Life is about where destiny makes you flow with the people you need; thanks to a series of projects, I was introduced to Florence Jacob with Caviar Paris first, and the rest is history. I feel they can support my career growth with their comedic expertise and filmmaking prowess.”
Prior to joining Caviar, Emanuel had been repped by production house Stadium. He was born and raised in Santa Monica, Calif., to a Mexican-German mother, benefiting from a culturally diversified upbringing that carried through his education interests. Knowing he wanted to be a filmmaker from the start, he began his career in the luxury and beauty field,... Read More