Inside the only all-female stunt-driving team working in commercials

Growing up in Canada, Olivia Summers was riding snowmobiles and doing donuts in the snow in her dad’s Ford pickup truck long before she had a driver’s license. Years later, it was her father who suggested an idea when Summers found herself at a low point, exhausted by fighting for equal chances in the world of stunt driving, a profession heavily dominated by men. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Agency A-List winners here “I was meeting with a commercial production company in Santa Monica, and they said, ‘Oh, Olivia, we didn’t realize there were female drivers. We just put guys in wigs,’” Summers told Ad Age. The practice, known as “wigging,” in which male stuntmen double for female actresses, is against Screen Actors Guild rules. Summers figured the company’s execs knew this. But if they didn’t, that was even worse—it meant women drivers really were totally off the radar. “I was feeling really defeated and sad,” Summers said. “I called my dad, because he was always my biggest fan. I was in tears. I said, ‘Dad, I don’t know what to do. Tell me what I need to do.’ And it was like clockwork. I put the key in the ignition, and all I heard him say was, ‘You have to start an all-female stunt-driving team.’” In 2019, Summers did just that, creating the Association of Women Drivers (AWD), which claims to be the only all-female stunt-driving team working in film, television and commercials. Today, Summers and Dee Bryant, her partner in AWD, use the organization to raise awareness of women drivers while mentoring the next generation. Those who’ve worked with Summers and Bryant say there aren’t two better stunt drivers out there, male or female. (For evidence, see their driving reels below.) Yet it remains an uphill battle, as both women—and female drivers generally—still struggle for respect and opportunity in what they say is a highly political corner of the film and commercial business. At the same time, they are making progress and gaining momentum, as more agencies and production companies realize they’re just as good as the guys, if not better. Falling in love with driving Summers and Bryant were both obsessed with vehicles as kids, encouraged by fathers who were as well. Summers had an attachment to every car her dad ever owned. When he sold one, she’d cry as though she’d lost a sibling. To this day, she talks to her cars before a job. “I’ll say things like, ‘You’re a good girl. We’re going to nail this,’” she said. Summers took a circuitous route to stunt driving. She started out as a professional dancer in Toronto—a career that’s physically grueling in its own way—and later danced with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. After moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting, she met a stunt driver who suggested she look into that profession and began taking classes at Bobby Ore Motorsports driving school. “Pardon my language, but they called me a ‘cone bitch,’” she said. “I was the only female there. When the guys were practicing and would hit a cone, I would go out, pick it up and put it back in place.” Bryant grew up riding motorcycles from age 11 and street racing in her boyfriend’s cars in the San Gabriel Valley. “My dad was a motorhead, and had a trucking business,” she said. “My brother and I would drive the tractors around when they weren’t attached to the trailers. That got me interested in heavy equipment, boats and basically any and every vehicle you can think of. I’m a motorhead just like my dad.” Bryant worked in heavy equipment for a while, operating cranes and bulldozers, before being introduced to stunt driving. Today, both she and Summers have Class A licenses, allowing them to do stunt driving in larger vehicles such as trucks and buses. Ad Age Leading Women Luncheon Join us Aug. 7 in New York as we recognize this year’s honorees Buy your ticket today Shooting spots for automakers and more After years in the business, both women have hundreds of credits across advertising, film and TV. Summers has been a stunt-driving double for actresses such as Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ming-Na Wen and Kristen Wiig. (She did the driving in this famous scene from “Bridesmaids.”) Bryant has doubled for Angela Bassett, Regina King and Kerry Washington, among others. Summers’ advertising work in recent years has include spots for Honda (above), Ford, Lincoln, Lexus, Kia, Hyundai, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Nissan—the list goes on. Outside of automotive, she’s done ads for Progressive, Sony, Facebook, Bud Light and more. In the Adidas spot below, she doubled Kylie Jenner. “That was a doozy,” said Rebecca Wray, executive producer at BroderVille, who produced the Adidas ad at her previous company, Durable Goods. “Not only is doubling a well-known celebrity a tall order, but to be able to drive, do donuts in sand in the dark, all while wearing crazy fake nails and hitting her marks every time, was incredible.” Will Garcia, producer at Zubi Advertising Services, who’s worked with Summers on many Ford spots, said she impressed him immediately on their first shoot together. “Olivia has a contagiously fun personality, but when her time comes to do the driving, her game face turns on,” he said. “She’s also gotten to do some not-so-safe maneuvers for us—driving off-road, showcasing the Mustang’s high-performance abilities, you name it.” Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here In a world of male drivers, Garcia added, Summers more than holds her own. “The coolest thing about her is when she’s the only woman driver on set and the other guy drivers are all talking shop, she’s right up there with them, earning their respect like the badass she is,” he said. Bryant has focused more on the TV and film space in her career, but has been getting more into commercials as well. She just shot a Ford campaign, “Dear Car Girl,” for this year’s International Women’s Day. Bryant also doubled Serena Williams on a Lincoln commercial last year, shot by Judith Veenendaal of division7. Williams was pregnant at the time, so they had Bryant wear a prosthetic belly for her shots. “We’re not usually seen [in the finished spots], but they felt the need to do this I guess because of the drone shots,” Bryant said. “Here I am trying to figure out how to drive with this big old belly in front of me. That was a first.” Bryant was profiled in a “Built Ford Proud” spot a year ago, which dug deep into her stunt-driving philosophy and tangentially mentioned AWD. As Bryant says in the “Built Ford Proud” spot, it remains a challenge to break through the stereotype that women aren’t as skilled as men at stunt driving. She and Summers both say more agencies and production companies are open to hiring women for such jobs today, but the problem lingers. “A large part of the commercial industry is acknowledging it, but I hate to say it, the old-school guys still want their boys on these jobs,” said Summers. Last year alone, Summers said, she was pulled from four commercials, even though she’d been requested by the agency or production company. Summers said the industry is still full of shady practices. Stunt drivers have their wives or daughters work jobs even if they’re not up to the task, she said, to keep the residuals in the family. Stunt coordinators will even lie about her availability, she said—neglecting to give her a call time for a shoot, then telling the production company Summers took other work when she doesn’t show up. “There’s a lot of nepotism,” added Bryant. “I’ve been in the business for 26 years, and it’s become easier, but it’s still difficult.” Along with getting past the politics, many in the production industry feel the situation will improve if people simply take a chance on women drivers—and see how they perform. Pilar Leff, a freelance senior producer, admits she was “shocked” to see Summers on set for a job she was working in 2017—the two met at that shoot. Leff said she learned a lot that day, and that the industry can get past its biases, too. “I didn’t realize I had preconceived notions. She can do everything the male drivers can do, and in some cases better, without ego or bravado,” Leff said. “There is a monopoly between drivers and pursuit car companies, keeping the same white male boys’ club employed. I saw this so prevalently the last time I was on set with [Summers] in 2023.” Chipping away at that monopoly is Summers and Bryant’s goal with AWD. But they have to tread carefully. While mentoring up-and-coming women, they have to be judicious about which jobs to recommend them for—lest they get in over their heads and end up reinforcing the stereotype that women can’t do such jobs. They’re also reluctant to promote the younger drivers on the AWD website, due to fears they’ll be blackballed in the industry. To many, this is what makes Summers and Bryant so remarkable—that they navigate this negativity yet remain so positive and professional on set. “This is the reason I admire her the most—her tenacity to keep doing what she loves, despite all the obstacles,” Leff said of Summers. “Car commercials are usually male-dominated sets. It’s par for the course for issues to arise. It’s hard to hear a woman potentially have a better idea on how to solve that issue. These are real issues that still happen. She always deals with this tension ever so graciously with the utmost professionalism. Never mind that she is quick-witted, funny, joyful and kind.” “Stunts and driving have always been a predominantly male-dominated industry, and they would like to keep it that way,” added Wray. “However, it’s 2024 and a trained woman can do just about anything a man can do, and usually with a better temperament.” The road ahead Summers and Bryant’s future looks bright, as they continue to get more exposure. Their upcoming work includes a segment on an episode of “The Ride Life with Sung Kang,” a forthcoming documentary series hosted by the “Fast & Furious” actor. And in a world of brands that at least claim to value diversity, theirs is a great story, too. Not only are they women working in what’s traditionally a man’s job, they’re both multicultural as well—Summers is half Indian, half Hungarian/German, while Bryant is half African American, half Latina. “People see us together and they’re like, ‘There’s a show here,’” said Summers. “We’re both obviously women. We’re both multicultural. And we’re super talented. And that’s not us being cocky. If this was two guys here, they’d be saying the same thing.” Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here

Inside the only all-female stunt-driving team working in commercials

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