In this branded short film titled Airlift Drift, Pennzoil presents famed stunt driver Rhys Millen behind the wheel of a 707 horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat as he pushes the boundaries of performance. Shot in Cape Town, South Africa, the short was directed by Ozan Biron of The Embassy, Vancouver, B.C., for J. Walter Thompson Atlanta.
The piece marks several firsts for Pennzoil: a campaign led by an online film first rather than a more traditional TV-driven approach; shedding the advertising norms of its category by dropping claim-based language and product shots to show, not tell, the performance; and deliberately excluding music and VO from the film so consumers can hear the performance through the engine–targeting a visceral reaction–thanks to Charles Deenen at Sound Source.
The :90 online film can be viewed on the Pennzoil YouTube channel and updated PennzoilSynthetics.com.
Credits
Client Pennzoil Agency J. Walter Thompson Atlanta Perry Fair, chief creative officer; Jeremy Jones, executive creative director; Dustin Tamilio, group creative director; John Huddleston, copywriter; Erin Fillingam, art director; Daryll Merchant, producer; James Robbins, sr. planner. Production The Embassy, Vancouver, B.C. Ozan Biron, director/editor; Trevor Cawood, exec producer; Manoel Ferreira, DP. Post Cycle Media Brendan Woollard, assistant editor/conformist. VFX Imagine Engine Bernhard Kimbacher, VFX supervisor; Neil Impey, on-set supervisor. Stunts Rhys Millen, precision driver. Content Production Company Lemonade Films Ted Herman, exec producer; Philip Fyfe, production supervisor. Production Services (South Africa) Uncle Morris Films Steven St. Arnaud, line producer; Herman Warnich, production manager; Andrea Scott, production coordinator. Post Company 3 Dave Hussey, colorist. Sound Design Sound Source LA Charles Deenen, sound designer.
How do you top one of the most viral brand videos ever made? Spoiler alert: you can’t. But when Dollar Shave Club tapped Zack Seckler to direct a new campaign to revive the absurdist humor of its iconic launch video, he knew he had a rare opportunity to create something special.
The brief was simple: introduce the concept of a physical “Club” that people would love to join while showcasing Dollar Shave Club’s products and embracing the weird. From script to direction and post, Seckler--an alum of SHOOT’s 2021 New Directors Showcase--was invited to help sculpt that vision.
The result is this “Welcome to the Club” spot which invites us to join a unique, seemingly exclusive but in reality an accessible and affordable fraternity of Dollar Shave Club members. But you need to know the password or more accurately, the two-word phrase--"shave money."
“The Club” campaign brings the brand back to its humorous roots, reflecting a new chapter after being acquired by Nexus Capital Management from Unilever in late 2023. The work takes Dollar Shave Club back to its disruptive beginnings and what made the brand a viral sensation from its inception in 2011.
