Via production house Company, Academy Award-winning (No Country For Old Men, Fargo) filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, a.k.a. the Coen brothers, directed “Easy Driver,” a Super Bowl commercial for Mercedes-Benz, which will make its broadcast debut during the 4th quarter of the Big Game on Feb 5.
The “Easy Driver” :60 pays tribute to the 1969 seminal film Easy Rider, replete with Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild,” actor Peter Fonda, and a group of rebel bikers who are considerably older now. Fonda too has some gray around the temples. It turns out that his Mercedes AMG GT roadster is parked in front of the bikers’ bar hangout, blocking their motorcycles from getting out. Not to worry, though. Fonda appears, gets behind the wheel of his AMG and hits the open road, driving free and easy akin to the spirit of his character in Easy Rider. The AMG GT was "built to be wild" and "born to be wild."
Merkley + Partners, NY, teamed with German agency Antoni on “Easy Driver.”
Credits
Client Mercedes-Benz Agency Antoni-Germany André Kemper, chief creative officer/founder; Dr. Tonio Kröger, managing partner/founder; Marcell Francke, Stephan Schaefer, creative directors; Mark Rota, executive producer. Agency Merkley + Partners NY Andy Hirsch, chief creative officer/chairman; Gary Grossman, director of broadcast production; Alex Kobak, sr. producer. Production Company, Los Angeles Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, directors; Dan Hainey, DP; Ron Neter, line producer; Robin Benson, Richard Goldstein, exec producers; Ari Schneiderman, head of production. Editorial Final Cut NY Rick Russell, editor; Jen Sienkwicz, producer; Sarah Roebuck, exec producer. Mike Radforth, UK loading assistant; Geoff Hastings, NY cutting assistant. Visual Effects Blacksmith Tom Bussell, VFX lead; Iwan Zwarts, lead compositor; Daniel Morris, Liz Lyons, compositors; Michael Dunkey, CG FX artist. Rotoscoping Trace VFX Bogdan Mihajlovic, tracking; Megan Sweet, producer; Charlotte Arnold, exec producer. Color Company 3 Tom Poole, colorist. Music “Born To Be Wild”–Steppenwolf Audio Post Heard City, Phil Loeb, sound mixer; Sound Design Trinitite Studios Brian Emrich, sound designer.
Stain remover Vanish presents this emotional short film--created by BETC Havas, Sao Paulo, and produced by LOBO--that explores the profound consequences of bullying and highlights the importance of open conversations between parents and children. Titled The Bully Monster, the animated film premiered at the Maquinaria Festival in Rio de Janeiro on February 15 in a special edition featuring family-focused programming.
The film’s protagonist is a boy who experiences bullying at school but keeps silent about his suffering. Isolation turns sadness into insecurity, creating invisible emotional scars that only grow in the absence of dialogue. When his mother notices stains on his uniform, these marks become the starting point for a revealing conversation. As words find space to make themselves heard, the stains begin to fade.
This initiative aligns with the Vanish Saves Your Uniform campaign, which, for the past three years during the back-to-school season, has engaged with parents by positioning the brand as a trusted partner in preserving school uniforms. This year, Vanish decided to broaden the conversation, bringing bullying into the debate as the real stain that can impact a child’s life.
The Bully Monster is being screened as preshow material in movie theaters starting February 20 and will also be available on streaming platforms and digital channels. In addition to the film, the campaign will include out-of-home activations and school initiatives through a partnership with Abrace – Preventive Programs, the founding organization of the “Bullying-Free Schools” program, which has been equipping institutions with resources to combat school violence for 12 years.
“Research indicates that stains on a uniform can... Read More
