Motorsport meets climate change in this blockbuster ad promoting Formula E

A cinematic new spot from Formula E, the all-electric motorsport championship, blends the excitement of racing with a message about climate change, supported by the tagline "No turning back."

The film, created by Uncommon Creative Studio and directed by Sam Walker of Pulse Films, promotes Season 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, which begins this week. It's a high-octane race through locations based on some of the cities in which this season's Formula E races will take place, including New York, Seoul, Monaco and London.

The story sees leading Formula E driver Antonio Felix Da Costa escape from his car after a high speed crash, intercut with news reports about climate change. Other drivers from different teams follow him and they chase their way through various locations including a New York alleyway, a Korean restaurant, a glamorous nightclub and a theater performance of "Julius Caesar."

Finally Da Costa makes it back to the race track where he races with the Formula E cars to the finish line, where we're told there's "No Turning Back." The idea is that the race between the drivers equates with the bigger race to fight climate change through adopting electric vehicles. 

The racing scenes were created using Unreal Engine CGI effects, using precise reference from Formula E races, while the live action footage was shot during a four day shoot in Kiev, working with service company Radioaktive. Although it seems like a big production for an ad with a green message, Uncommon minimized agency attendance, reviewing filming remotely and casting all locally. The agency is also a member of the Ad NetZero initiative and follows AdGreen best practice to minimize the environmental impact of its production processes. 

The campaign is running in the U.K., U.S., Germany and other global markets across TV, cinema, digital and social media.

"This environmentally charged film shines a light not only on the grit and determination of the exceptional drivers but also on the unpredictability of the races and the important climate issues that we can't turn our back on either," said James Drummond, managing partner at Uncommon, in a statement.