Henry Ford’s dream of providing every man with an affordable car was based on one simple principle: “The human condition has an uncontrollable need to be somewhere else.” Greg Francois, director of the new Dunlop Tyres Take the Road television commercial says that the spot, in a way, builds on this ideal insofar as no matter your journey Dunlop gives you the confidence to take the road.
Conceptualised by Durban-based advertising agency O’Donoghue and Associates, the TVC presents a number of drivers who, inspired by Dunlop and the confidence its tyres instill, take to the road on a series of incredible, almost inconceivable, journeys. However, rather than just travelling from point A to point B, the drivers transform their bland or familiar immediate environments that they are hoping to escape, into the spectacular world they individually and ideally would like to reach. “Each vehicle, in effect becomes a magic wand that sweeps through these initial settings miraculously transforming them as they drive,” comments Francois.
Francois has a strong history with Dunlop as the previous commercial he shot for them ran for a remarkable six years. “There was a lot of upfront trust and we were extremely lucky to have very astute and passionate clients with us during the process.” As a brand, the Dunlop team was willing to take risks narratively and creatively on the Take the Road commercial, and the idea that a tyre commercial could be emotive and more real was the driving force behind the current TVC.
“They took a big leap of faith and I believe that paid off tenfold in the end. They somehow understood that the post production element was going to take the commercial to another level. They trusted that once we had finished shooting, a whole other world would come into play, this was very difficult to visualise,” explains Francois.
The brief from the agency was extremely detailed, providing Cape Town-based production house The Joneses – of which Greg is a co-founder – with animated tests that described the kind of effects they were looking for. These elements served as a template on which the finished product was constructed. “Licence was then taken in interpreting an outrageous yet plausible illusion that has defined this campaign,” Francois says. “It is always dangerous for a director to stray from the original brief but given our track record with this client, there was a lot of trust in extending the possibilities of this concept.” A very thorough pre-production process ensured everyone had a fair idea of what to expect. With such an ambitious project the team at The Joneses wanted to exceed expectations, delivering a commercial that is truly breathtaking.
Francois says that he envisioned this campaign as “a visual anthem that takes ownership of the road and our insatiable desire to explore.” However, rather than a collection of beautiful driving shots, he imagined a transcendent experience where the rich and emotive qualities that define each destination are revealed in a completely unique manner. “Hollywood has set a remarkable precedent in creating a world so outrageous yet so realistic the viewer has no choice but to accept this new reality. A city rising out of the desert or a waterfall tumbling down into an urban canyon certainly pushes similar boundaries.” The project was based on the same principle in that an outrageous and explicitly farfetched scenario becomes plausible through the realism in which it was executed. To achieve this augmented reality, elements of live action and computer generated animation were combined in such a way that, although the viewer recognises an extreme distortion of reality, he/she cannot identify what is real and what is digital.
“To create a visual anthem this commercial needed an epic look. Extreme aerial perspectives chasing our cast by helicopter offered that big picture feel and gave the animators space for entire cities to rise out of the ground. As this is not a car commercial, emphasis was also placed on the human experience so cutaways of our cast’s reactions to the changing world required rigs mounted in and around the vehicles,” Francois expands. “I try to shoot as much in-camera as possible relying on computer animation to fill in the details and complete a reality that does not exist. In this instance, a number of in-camera special effects were used to bridge real and digital worlds. For example, the technology to animate thousands of tons of water tumbling down the side of a building exists but this sequence needed more for it to be believed. To complete this illusion three tons of water were raised eight meters above the street and dumped next to the vehicle as it drove past. The absolute realism of so much water connecting with the road and exploding in slow motion gave life to what could have appeared a very synthetic waterfall.”
Historically, tyre commercials are known to be masculine and rugged in character, relying on raw performance to sell what is essentially a grudge purchase. This campaign celebrates the wonder and spectacle of both our physical journey and our life’s journey rather than just showcasing rubber on asphalt. “It is this emotion that we believe the viewer will connect with and ultimately be inspired by,” Francois concludes.
Key crew:
Production
- Director: Greg Francois
- Executive producer: Tess Tambourlas
- DOP: Alard De Smidt
- Helicopter Pilot: Gert Uys
- Aerial Cameraman: Chris Lomax
- Assistant Directors: Tony Tex and Megan Truter
- Art Director: Simon McLoughlin
Post Production
- Deliverance Post
- Offline edit: Ricky Boyd
- Online: David Oosthuizen
- Executive producer: Paula Raphael
- CGI: Lung Animation
- Post-production supervisor: Arri Reschke
- Producer: Jean Mortlock
Audio and Final Mix
- Freq’ncy with Simon Malherbe
