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

Published On
Aug 04, 2022

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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