Audi’s Super Bowl LIII commercial turns to comedy to promote the carmaker’s all new e-tron models. The Audi e-tron GT concept takes center stage, with the Audi e-tron SUV making a cameo at the end. The 60-second spot, “Cashew,” directed by Ringan Ledwidge of Rattling Stick for Venables Bell & Partners, will air during the second quarter of the Big Game.
“Cashew” tells the humorous story of one man’s version of utopia, made complete by his vision of the perfect car. As the spot begins, viewers are transported through an ethereal field alongside a man walking. As he arrives at a rustic house, the man is greeted by his grandfather and ushered into a garage where the all-electric Audi e-tron GT concept is revealed. Delighted, the man pushes the start button and the vehicle comes to life. The man is then abruptly pulled back from his paradise as his chest begins to convulse. Back in an office setting, the man has just coughed up a cashew nut after receiving medical assistance from a colleague. As the colleague utters “You’re one lucky man. I was worried about you for a minute,” a look of utter disappointment and frustration paints the man’s face. The commercial concludes with the message: “A thrilling future awaits. On Earth. One third of all new Audi models will be electrified by 2025.”
The all-electric Audi e-tron SUV is anticipated to arrive in the U.S. in the 2nd quarter of 2019.
Credits
Client Audi Agency Venables Bell & Partners Paul Venables, founder, chairman; Will McGinness, executive creative director; Matt Keats, Matt Miller creative directors; Avery Oldfield, Adam Wolinsky, associate creative directors; Hilary Coate, director of integrated production; Matt Flaker, executive producer; Mike Ronkoske, strategy director; Mike Riley, strategy director. Production Rattling Stick Ringan Ledwidge, director; Joe Biggins, Jeff Shupe, exec producers; Richard McIntosh, head of production; Joey Zadwarny, line producer; Adam Arkapaw, DP. Editorial Work Editorial Rich Orrick, editor; Leah Turner, assistant editor; Marlo Baird, exec producer; Brandee Probasco, producer. VFX/Finishing The Mill Phil Crowe, chief creative officer; John Shirley, creative director/shoot supervisor; Anastasia von Rahl, exec producer; Dan Love, sr. producer; Vanessa Yee, associate producer. Music Beacon Street Studios, Venice, Calif. Andrew Feltenstein, John Nau, composers Sound Design LSD, Santa Monica, Calif. Rohan Young, sound designer; Susie Boyajan, executive producer Audio Post Lime Studios, Santa Monica, Calif. Rohan Young, audio mixer; Jeremy Nichols, audio assistant; Susie Boyajan, executive producer
Telecine Company 3 Tom Poole, colorist; Alexandra Lubrano, color producer; Jenny Montgomery, color assist.
Dancer turned director Ezra Hurwitz collaborates with Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper, featuring movement as museum pieces against the Whitney Museum of American Art’s striking architecture for this short film titled Echoes of Ailey. Commissioned to celebrate “Edges of Ailey” at the Whitney Museum, the film accompanies the first large-scale exhibition on the life and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey. “Edges of Ailey” is currently on view at the Whitney until February 9.
Animating iconic images from Alvin Ailey’s 20th-century repertory, the film expands on the exhibition by constructing a visual narrative around his storytelling and influences. Set to Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place,” dancers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, and The Ailey School capture the emotional core of the company’s history--physically situating Ailey’s masterworks amongst the Whitney’s collection.
“As a child, my grandmother took me to Ailey’s Revelations once a year,” said Hurwitz. “No matter how often I saw it, the work captivated me. There isn’t one specific thing I hope viewers take away from the film--or one way to interpret its images. It’s meant to be an abstract work, like Ailey’s creations.”
Turning to his archive, Hurwitz and Harper illuminate key sequences symbolic of Ailey’s profound legacy, closing on an uninterrupted sequence from "I’ve Been Buked," the opening movement of Ailey’s legendary "Revelations." Carrying a watershed moment back to its own medium, Echoes of Ailey captures the multigenerational impact of Ailey’s work, continued by his organization. The short film first premiered on Nowness.
