We’ve all been buoyed by a kid’s naive ambition to realize their big dreams. Why can’t all of us just dream like a kid again, despite being stuck with all of life’s everyday challenges? To show how far a kid’s big dream can go, Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai developed this film that lets a wild bunch of kids realize their big dreams at this Chinese New Year (CNY)–thus setting an example for youngsters to dream wild and act big, pushing back against the pressure to be “practical” just to stay afloat in life.
This hero piece centers around a very special table that is present at every traditional CNY dinner–the childrens’ table, a kid-sized dining area usually placed next to the adult table that gathers all the kids in the family and those who don’t drink. And this is the kids’ once-in-a-year opportunity to…TALK BIG! To make the kids’ big talks even more inspiring, Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai invited an unusual line-up: two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na, China’s basketball legend Yi Jianlian, “Chinese football goddess” Wang Shuang, Olympic Gold medalist in 110m hurdles Liu Xiang, aspiring tennis players Zheng Qinwen and Emma Raducanu–all in their kid forms.
To bring these aspiring young athletes to life, deep fake technology was used merging live-action video with computer-generated faces. Each shot is retouched frame by frame to achieve maximized likeness and realness, as we see these kid athletes stun Europe as the globe-trotting football hero, lead superhero dream team, become Asia’s Flying Man, and inspire future athletes in China and beyond.
Caroline Koning directed via Lunar Films.
Credits
Client Nike China Simon Lee, Che Lin, brand creative sr. director; Michael Chien, narrative director; Jovi Weng, narrative manager; Diana Tang, art director; Scott Wang, sr. designer; Cyan Wang, designer; Tiara Xu, copywriter; Kelly Zhan, productino director; Sherry Xu, Ellie Sun, sr. producers. Agency Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai Ian Toombs, Vivian Yong, chief creative officers; Matt Meszaros, head of creative; Zhong How, creative director; Uty Chen, Rubi Li, Jing Qiu, associate creative directors; Huicheng Wu, sr. art director; Huzi Hu, art director; Diya Zhan, sr. creative; Zhaojing Qian, jr. copywriter; Fang Yuan, head of production; Diana Chew, leading sr. prdoucer; Mia Zeng, producer; Juni Tsu, head of design; Dongni Liu, Loop Lu, Fenghe Luo, Tingru Hou, designers; Vic Zhang, leading design producer. Production Lunar Films Caroline Koning, director; Ken Yap, exec producer; Jacq Wilkinson, Feng Zhe, producers; Wang Wei, Zoey.Z, line producers; Jo.C, 1st assistant director; Athena.W, stylist; Tang Zheng, art director; Zhang Lin, props master; Liang Zi, DP; Chris Zimmermann, Shihao Zhang, offline editors. Postproduction The Mill Shanghai Lily Li, exec producer; Christopher Li, producer; Schalk Van Der Merwe, Barry Greaves, VFX supervisors; Tommy Fu, technical director; Nicola Gasparri, colorist; Iris Zhang, color producer; Kan Lai, data engineer; Anel Van Der Merwe, Yicheng Zhu, data wrangers; Zhongyan Dai, Minnie Chen, Sally Lu, Chloe Gao, Jun Xu, Zhisong Liu, Sally Cui, Lina Yoo, Dada Cheng, Tingting Su, Min Min, Rose Pan, Qiu Cheng, Robin Liu, GZ Hsu, Tobey Tsao, James Corden, compositors; Aram Hakze, Cathy Xi, Selim Salah, Miya Shen, CG asset; Alexey Petryaev, animator; Paolo Gnoni, ZhangYao, Limei Li, lighting. Audio Production Animal Beast Production Gustav P Karlstrom, Eirik Roland, composers; Josef Johansson, exec producer.
For the global EX30 Cross Country launch, Volvo and creative agency Forsman & Bodenfors wants to de-dramatize the outdoor experience--and remind people that small trips into nature can be grand experiences.
Cross Country is Volvo’s concept of turning their regular cars into more outdoor-capable versions, with higher ground clearance, all-wheel drive and other features making it more capable and off-road ready. And now, the compact, fully electric EX30 becomes available as a Cross Country version. It’s a small car designed for big experiences, made to elevate both urban living and outdoor adventure, and to bring people closer to nature.
“With Volvo being such a human-centric brand, it felt natural to focus on the human side of nature. The child’s perspective became the perfect metaphor for this, to spend time in nature on nature’s terms,” said Karl Risenfors, creative at Forsman & Bodenfors.
In a category that often portrays epic journeys deep into the wilderness, the campaign serves as a reminder that even everyday adventures can be memorable experiences. Thus this launch spot--directed by Marcus Ibanez via production company New-Land--shows nature through the point of view of a child. A child’s imagination and perspective generates a visual metaphor for the magic that nature can bring, no matter the scale of the adventure.
