McLaren Elva film:
turning predictable into surprising
McLaren wanted us to film an F1 racing driver testing their new car. It’s been done before, and it works – but only for a specific audience. We wanted to work the idea harder, to widen its appeal and grow the demographic reach in new directions. How?
Swapping sales pitch for entertainment
OK, Lando Norris is a talented and successful McLaren F1 driver, but he’s also just 21 years old. He likes to have a laugh, he doesn’t take himself too seriously. These traits could talk to a younger, more savvy, faster connected audience.
Great driver, hopeless presenter: subverting the messaging method
We write a script containing all the key messages about the car, and give Lando the impossible task of delivering it. On camera, while driving. He fluffs it again and again, but his many outtakes add up to the whole message – repeated several times.
Idea, script, execution
The magic is in the edit. Lando’s attempts to narrate deteriorate as the raw thrill of driving the car overtakes him, descending into a visceral whoop of excitement as the edit pace increases. Back in the pits the director asks him how the script went. ‘Absolutely nailed it,’ he grins.
Message received
A simple technique. Take the hero brand ambassador, deconstruct his appeal, share the joke with him and do it with authenticity. Instead of pushing the message at the audience, we pull the audience in – 1.5 million views and counting.