Directed by The Perlorian Brothers via Canadian production company Merchant, this 45-second spot for Kicking Horse Coffee from agency Lifelong Crush opens on a donkey looking wistfully at the sun-splashed horses trotting past the humble barn where he spends his days.
His routine is dull and unvarying–until he spots a cobweb-covered motorcycle in the back of the barn. The sound of a revving engine signals the start of the music. At the same time, the song’s breakneck opening accompanies a color-splashed visual of the donkey barreling out of the barn, riding the motorcycle, and doing a donut before going full-throttle into the surrounding valley and onwards to the rest of the world.
The energetic and heartwarming spot captures the exhilaration that a good cup of coffee can provide and serves as an urgent reminder not to let life pass you by. In other words, be that donkey.
Titled “Kickstart Your Heart,” the commercial is being shown on TV and online across Canada and the U.S.
Credits
Client Kicking Horse Coffee Agency Lifelong Crush Christina Yu, creative director. Production Company Merchant The Perlorian Brothers, director; Natasha Braier, DP; Farrah Khaled, Ian Webb, Haley Taylor, exec producers; Andrew Sulliman, line producer. Editorial School Editing Ben Canny, editor; Yumi Suyama, exec producer; David Ngandu, assistant editor. CGI/VFX FABLEfx Kaj Steveman, VFX producer; Ulf Lundgren, VFX supervisor; Nils Lagergren, James Prosser, exec producers; Izmil Idris, production manager; Navaneeth Krishna, Wasim Ali, compositing; Vittoria Marini, Anurag Deshmukh, lighting; Mario Reitbauer, CFX; Dipti Patial, sr. creative rigger; Daniel Fotheringham, character animation director & character animator; Anton Blake, character animator; Aritz Basauri, character build & design; Johan Leuf, motorcycle prop build; Chawalit Jirattikansakul/DA, matchmove; Saurabh Gupta, head of pipeline; Alexander Bulygin, Solomon Ungom, pipeline TD; S.M. Shoaib, cloud/system administrator; Alexandra Berge, consultant relations. Color Grade Alter Ego Wade Odlum, colorist; Hilda Pereira, Jane Garrah, exec producers. VFX & Online Rodeo VFX Connie Dercho, exec producer; Laurent Taillefer, Igor Boros, VFX supervisors; Chloe Vankoughnett, post producer; Cesar Mion, Camille Potvin, Anne Georges, Flame artists; Jeremy Lewis, Flame assistant; Frederic St-Arnaud, matte painter. Audio House Eggplant Picture + Sound Nicola Treadgold, exec producer; Adam Damelin, producer/music supervisor; Nathan Handy, chief audio engineer.
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.
