Tool’s spec Land Rover spot shows possibilities of AI/live-action hybrids

The production company melds techniques from both in ‘Who Says Cars Can’t Dream?’ spot

Published On
Dec 16, 2024

Editor's Pick

Ever since its Under Armour “Forever Is Made Now” spot last spring put it at the epicenter of the ad industry’s AI debate, Tool of North America has been working to determine the best use of AI in the production process.

Its latest project, a spec ad for Land Rover (above), which it’s been screening for folks around the industry, proposes a hybrid approach, at least for now—where AI is employed for certain photo-real images, and live action used for footage of humans and other imagery AI hasn’t mastered yet.

The 45-second spot, co-directed by Erich Joiner and Ben Tricklebank, imagines if a Land Rover Defender, upon being parked for the night by an office worker who seemingly doesn’t get out much, dreams of a wilder existence—evidence of which is apparent the next morning when the driver heads off to work.

Also read: Coca-Cola’s AI holiday TV ads—creatives and consumers react to the spots

The shoot took one day, rather than the several days it would have taken if everything were shot traditionally. It’s a fun if somewhat well-worn story, and the use of AI for the dream sequences allowed Tool to feature a larger range of location and weather conditions that didn’t require travel or extensive visual effects.

A page on Tool’s website goes into extensive detail on the creative and production process.

“We want to show the community that we can deliver on story, we can deliver on craft, we can deliver on human performance. But let’s use the right tools,” Dustin Callif, president of Tool, told Ad Age. “Live action is amazing at capturing human performance. Live action is great at capturing a product moving. And I can tell you, AI is not good at human performance, and AI is not close to being ready for consistency of a product moving over the course of a video. So let’s blend the two of them together.” 

He added: “We didn’t want to use stock footage because we wanted to be more particular with the visuals. And it has a story that I would say could go up against most ads. Ben and Eric are very particular with their eye, and the car looks great. It matches what a legal team is going to approve for a car.”

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Credits

Date
Dec 16, 2024
Client :
Land Rover
Agency :
Tool of North America
Production Company :
Tool of North America
Co-Director :
Ben Tricklebank
Co-Director :
Erich Joiner
Executive Producer :
Dustin Callif
Head of Production :
Amy DeLossa
Director of Photography :
Justin Gurnari
AI Image Generation :
Ben Tricklebank
AI Image Generation :
Janos Deri
AI Motion :
Ben Tricklebank
AI Motion :
Ariel Klevecz
Still Photography :
Ben Tricklebank
Music Composition :
Marco Lehmann
Post Production :
Therapy Studios
Executive Producer :
Margaret Ward
Editor :
Doobie White
Assistant Editor :
Hope Abrom
Colorist :
Omar Inguanzo
Sound Designer & Mixer :
Dillion Cahill
Sound Designer & Mixer :
Dori Holly
Flame Artist :
Faby Zumaran
Flame Artist :
Wren Waters
Flame Artist :
David Rivas

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Industry
Project Type