What opens as a pleasant, fairly mundane slice of family life takes an R-rated turn, facilitated by the speed, power and stylized design of the 2015 Type-R Honda Civic. Directed by Kirby McClure of Radical Friend via production house Kream for agency Karmarama, the teaser trailer transitions to an apocalyptic city featuring demon-eyed wolves, samurais and super humans.
VFX supervisor Leo Weston of Rushes, London, oversaw assorted effects for the film, including neon lit set extensions of futuristic cityscapes, falling rain effects, exploding speed cameras, beauty work on female androids, plus adding their black android eyes, glowing wolf eyes, and bringing in the exploding CG crystal.
The rotating black crystal was sculpted in ZBrush and shattered into hundreds of fragments using Houdini’s procedural modelling capabilities. Although the crystal explosion was initially driven using a particle system, the need for creative control meant that the majority of the pieces ended up being hand animated.
Credits
Client Honda Agency Karmarama Jenny O’Connell, producer; Rachel Holding, Daniel Leppänen, creatives; Emily Samways, business director; David Killick, planning director. Production Kream Kirby McClure of Radical Friend, director; Eddie Marshall, exec producer; Jon Harvey, creative partner; Mikey Levelle, producer; Matt Fox, DP. Editorial Speade, London. Ellie Johnson, editor. VFX Rushes Kristy May Currie, exec prducer; Simon Sanderson, producer; Simone Grattarola, colorist; Leo Weston (supervisor), Matt Jackson, James Dooley, Mark Ford, VFX; Andy Nicholas, Craig Travis, David Drese, Nimesh Patel, Mark Woodcock, Andrea Scibetta, CG; Matt Lawrence, Guy Hancock, Barry Corcoran, Fraser Macedo, MGFX; Noel Harmes, Sarah Breakwell, Nuke.
Tonal, the strength training system combining revolutionary digital weight technology with personalized, AI-powered coaching, has introduced its new brand platform, “Power Progress,” and advertising campaign developed in partnership with Quality Experience (QX), the creative independent agency founded by Ari Weiss.
Directed by Aube Perrie of Pulse Films (UKMVA Director of the Year 2023 & 2024, UKMVA Best New Director 2021 and Webby’s Best Music Video 2022) with visual effects from The Mill NY, this brand film contrasts how the heavy chains of the past still shape how we work out today, with Tonal representing the future of fitness.
In addition to the brand film, the campaign includes cutdowns ranging from 90 seconds to 15 seconds, with even the shortest spot clearly connecting the old and the new. French director Perrie’s body of work includes music videos for Harry Styles, Megan Thee Stallion, and RM’s “LOST!”
“Sports marketing has had a long history of breakthrough advertising,” said QX creative chairman Weiss. “We wanted to launch with an idea as disruptive as the product itself. Not an easy bar to live up to. Like any great idea the insight is dead simple but the execution is unexpected and riveting. Great sports marketing doesn’t happen without great sports marketers and the team at Tonal shared our ambition to make the marketing as disruptive as the product.”
