Aretha Franklin went riding in a pink Cadillac on the “Freeway of Love,” Ariana Grande drove around in a Caddy thinking about her honey, Dwight Yoakam sat in the back of a long white one as he listened to “night wolves moan,” Rihanna sang of a ‘57 model in “Shut Up and Drive." Cadillac has served as a musical and artistic muse over its 116-year history, an idea that drives this spot from the brand in Mexico.

Created out of Leo Burnett and directed by Rodrigo Saavedra via Landia, the “Inspired By” spot celebrates the brand’s iconic status in pop culture. It depicts a Cadillac driving through motley terrain--past fields, through highways and even takes a stunning animated detour through outer space before breaking through the screen at a drive-in movie. 

Throughout, we see drummers drumming and singers singing, as if paying musical homage to the vehicle. That’s evident in the soundtrack’s lyrics too, which are composed entirely from seven tunes inspired by the brand. But those are just a snapshot of the brand's influence. According to the ad, Cadillac has inspired or has been featured in more than 3,000 songs, 16,000 works of art and 17,000 films, data collected via the agency's internal research team.

According to Leo Burnett Mexico CCO Federico Russi, "Younger generations believe Cadillac is not a cool brand but history says another thing and shows that Cadillac has always inspired pop culture.”