Flamboyant wrestler Ric Flair stars as an over-the-top used car salesman in a campaign for Georgia-based USAuto Sales. Atlanta creative boutique Nine Mile Circle produced and finished the three spots in which the now 67-year-old strongman, known as “Nature Boy,” plays the flimflamming proprietor of Papa Flair’s Used Cars. In one, Flair boasts “we’re body slammin’ prices into the ground,” and then proceeds to dish out the same treatment to his hapless customers. US Auto Sales is offered as an alternative for people who’d rather avoid the arm twisting and stereotypical badgering from a shady used car dealer.
The campaign was conceived by USAuto Sales marketing director Khalil Thompson and directed by Nine Mile Circle’s Les Umberger. The antics that gave Flair the reputation as “the dirtiest player in the game” are hilariously transported to a rundown, 1970s vintage car dealership. Flair struts, grins and offers his trademark shout, “WOOOOO!”
In addition to producing the shoot, Nine Mile Circle provided editorial, color correction, visual effects, music, sound and finishing services. Umberger said that for Flair’s segments, the aim was to mimic the look of low budget ads for local car dealers. “We experimented with lo-fi looks going back to the VHS era,” he recalls. “The finished spots have a crazy palette of blues and blacks with orange highlights that brought out the wood paneling and odd environment of the dealership. By contrast, the scenes set at a USAuto Sales facility are clean, vibrant and modern.”
For the music, composer Kenneth Lovell also sought inspiration from the past. “We play off bad car ads from the ‘80s and ‘90s and shift to a very modern sound at the end,” he said. “We did a second piece that is an ode to elevator music and processed it to sound like it’s filtered through a speaker in the dealership. The overall vibe is ‘get me out of here!’”
CreditsClient USAuto Sales Khalil Thompson, marketing director. Production & Post Nine Mile Circle, Atlanta. Les Umberger, creative director, director, editor, VFX artist; Amanda Oldeen, executive producer; Dave Pickett, colorist; Kenneth Lovell, composer, sound designer, audio engineer.
Top Spot of the Week: EHRAC, Animation Studio NOMINT Depict Life “In Limbo” As Families Search For Loved Ones
This animated film titled In Limbo depicts the journey of a heroic woman protagonist representing the countless families in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe (where Chechnya is situated) searching for their forcibly disappeared loved ones. Utilizing theatrical elements, the film highlights the unnatural disruption caused by enforced disappearances and delves into the profound trauma these families endure. It emphasizes their long battles with the domestic authorities as they seek answers. The film also underscores the vital role of community support in helping these families cope and continue their fight for answers, serving as a compelling call to action for justice and human rights.
Through intimate storytelling, In Limbo raises awareness of the ongoing uncertainty that leaves families in a perpetual state of limbo, unable to find closure.
Directed by Afterman--the animation duo consisting of Tsvetelina Zdraveva and Jerred North--and created and produced by London-based animation studio NOMINT, In Limbo was commissioned by the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC).
In a joint statement, Zdraveva and North shared, “Our film takes place on a theater stage, highlighting how such tragedies are far removed from ordinary life,” they continued. “The stage is circular, resembling an artificial, perpetually spinning obstacle course, with a target—the red tail lights—just within sight yet never within reach, symbolizing the family’s never-ending quest for justice.”
“We used a limited primary color palette to contrast the two worlds all families are pulled between. Minimalist compositions of starkly silhouetted characters and environments create the ominous atmosphere of a deeply painful and... Read More