Volkswagen EV ad stars Christian Pulisic under pressure
U.S. Men's National Soccer Team captain fronts latest from 'Drive Bigger' campaign promoting VW's ID.4 as U.S. production of vehicle begins
Editor's Pick
“Pressure makes diamonds” in Volkswagen’s new ad starring U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team Captain Christian Pulisic.
The 60-second spot, "Diamonds," promotes VW's 2022 electric SUV, the ID.4, Volkswagen Group's most popular all-electric model. It builds on the German automaker’s three-year U.S. Soccer partnership and compares the pressure athletes are under to perform to the pressure VW is under to produce electric vehicles.
In the film, viewers take a journey through Pulisic’s mind as he’s poised to take a penalty kick. He reminisces about where it all began, traveling through moments of his career until arriving back in the game. Other celeb appearances include the former USMNT player Clint Dempsey, actor and comedian Brett Goldstein ("Ted Lasso") and the voice of English Football commentator Martin Tyler.
Created with agency of record Johannes Leonardo, it's the latest extension of VW’s ongoing “Drive Bigger” brand platform. Previous spots that broke this summer include "Those Guys," about a guy oblivious to those around him, and "Break Free," centered on a sheep who breaks from the herd.
"Each effort points to the ways that VW drivers choose to live bigger lives—whether by choosing not to follow the herd, driving with others in mind, or sticking with something important no matter the pressure," said Jonathan Santana, creative director at Johannes Leonardo. "Executionally, the 'Diamonds' film provides a more ambitious premise—a snapshot of Christian's entire soccer career, sprinkled with some celebrity cameos, rather than zeroing in on one particular moment in the life of a VW driver as other recent work has done," Santana said.
“Diamonds” arrives as VW begins production of the all-electric ID.4 compact SUV at its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, making it the company's first EV to be assembled in the U.S. The automaker plans to ramp up ID.4 assembly in Chattanooga to 7,000 cars per month in the fourth quarter, with the goal to further increase output in 2023. Vehicles are expected to be delivered as early as October 2022, according to VW. VW has delivered 190,000 ID.4 vehicles to customers around the world since its launch in 2021, which the brand marked with a populist-themed campaign.
“Diamonds,” directed by Adam Hashemi via Reset, will debut during the English Premier League on Aug. 6 and will run across ESPN, Bleacher Report, Fox, NBC, CBS, Fubo TV, TBS, HBO Max, Hulu, and Peacock. The commercial will also air during the 2022 Emmy Awards, "The Tonight Show," "Late Night with Seth Meyers" and "20/20." Earlier this year, Volkswagen marketing reps said that the automaker was shifting towards a more flexible media buying plan due to supply chain shortages.
Credits
- Date
- Aug 04, 2022
- Client :
- Volkswagen
- Agency :
- Johannes Leonardo
- Director :
- Adam Hashemi
- Production Company :
- RESET
- President & CEO :
- Scott Keogh
- EVP Sales & Marketing :
- Andrew Savvas
- SVP Marketing :
- Kimberley Gardiner
- Director Brand and Retail Content :
- Jennifer Clayton
- Manager Advertising :
- Chanel Barresi
- Senior Specialist Brand Advertising :
- Annabel Lyon
- Co-Founder & Co-Creative Chairman :
- Jan Jacobs
- Co-Founder & Co-Creative Chairman :
- Leo Premutico
- Chief Creative Officer :
- Julia Neumann
- Group Creative Director :
- Jonathan Santana
- Creative Director / Art Director :
- Carolyn Davis
- Creative Director / Copywriter :
- Matthew Page
- Design Director :
- Charles Watlington
- Associate Design Director :
- Olga Vladova
- Head of Production :
- Maria Perez
- Group Executive Producer :
- Rebecca O'Neill
- Executive Producer :
- Victoria Bennett
- Producer :
- Grace Kenney
- Director Business Affairs :
- Alesa Blanchard-Nelson
- Business Affairs Manager :
- Joe Bringuier
- Broadcast Traffic Manager :
- Sargia Green
- Group Account Director :
- Sam McCallum
- Account Director :
- Mal Gretz
- Account Supervisor :
- Leah Stoltz
- Group Strategy Director :
- Mary Bakarich
- Communications Strategy Director :
- Cooper Lemon
- Senior Strategist :
- Brendan Chareoncharutkun
- Senior Strategist :
- Matthew Choi
- Product Information Specialist :
- Ryan Callahan
- Film Production Company :
- Reset Content
- Director :
- Adam Hashemi
- Managing Director :
- Dave Morrison
- Executive Producer :
- Jen Beitler
- Line Producer :
- Ewen Brown
- Director of Photography :
- Eigil Byrld
- Production Designer :
- Christian Friedland
- Costume Designer :
- Mr Gammon
- Editorial :
- Exile Edit
- Managing Partner :
- Sasha Hirschfeld
- Producer :
- Grace Hammerstein
- Lead Editor :
- Jacob Schulsinger
- Assistant Editor :
- Anchor Mak
- Finish/VFX/Color Grade :
- Blacksmith
- VFX Supervisor :
- Tom Bussell
- Lead Compositor :
- Kshitij Khanna
- Compositor :
- Yebin Ahn
- Compositor :
- Robert Bruce
- Compositor :
- Jacob Slutsky
- CG Lead :
- Olivier Varteressian
- CG Lead :
- Tuna Unalan
- CG :
- Jackie Liao
- CG :
- Kushal Das
- CG :
- Michael Marsek
- CG :
- Wei-Ting Duo
- CG :
- Nick Owoyemi
- CG :
- Cathy Phan
- CG :
- Rik Walia
- CG :
- Sung Joon Kim
- Colorist :
- Mikey Pehanich
- Color Assistant :
- Sam Howells
- Executive Producer :
- Charlotte Arnold
- Producer :
- Ashley Goodwin
- Audio Mixing :
- Sonic Union
- Mix Engineer :
- Steven Rosen
- Mix Engineer :
- Rob Difondi
- Audio Post Studio Director :
- Justine Cortale
- Mix Assistant :
- Joey Glick
- Sound Design :
- Trinitite Studios
- Sound Designer & Mix Engineer :
- Brian Emrich
- Music House :
- Leland Music
- Managing Director :
- Ed Bailie
- Music Supervisor :
- Ed Bailie
- Director :
- Toby Williams
- Music Supervisor :
- Toby Williams
- Business Director :
- Liz Devine
- Composer :
- Dan Deacon
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