TV Credits
Client: KIA Canada Inc.
Spot Titles: Mobsters, Well, Cabin
Product: KIA Soul
Website: peerintoasoul.ca
Agency: Publicis, Toronto
Executive Creative Director: Duncan Bruce
Associate Creative Director: Gary Holme
Creative Director: Pat Pirisi
Art Director: Gary Holme
Writer: Pat Pirisi
Producer: Dale Harrison
VP, Brand Director: Tony Ciccia
Account Supervisor: Dan Clark
Director: Mark Gilbert
Production Company: Untitled Films, Toronto
Executive Producer: Peter Davis
Line Producer: Sean Cooley
Director of Photography: Robert Yeoman
Production Designer: Stephen Sumney
Art Director: Gus Black
Editorial: Mick Griffin, Rooster Post Production, Toronto
Producer: Melissa Kahn
Asst. Editor: Jeff Poremba
Online Editorial: Track & Field, Toronto
Smoke Artist: Ernie Mordak
Asst. Artist: Andrew Rolfe
Transfer House: Alter Ego Post, Toronto
Colorist: Eric Whipp
Music and Sound Design: RMW, Toronto
Composer "Cabin" and "Mobster": Guido Luciani
Composer "Well": Mark Rajakovic
Sound Designer: Paul Sealey
RMW Music Producer: Ted Rosnick
Kia campaign by Publicis beckons Canadians to peer into a Soul
February 9, 2009 - The latest national brand campaign for Kia Canada Inc., created by the automaker’s agency of record Publicis Canada, launches today. The campaign features three television executions, entitled “Mobsters,” “Cabin” and “Well.” Additional elements also include national newspaper and trade magazine ads, dealership POS, nationwide dealership special events and a flagship out-of-home property in Montréal, Québec. Key markets include Montréal, where the production-ready Soul made its Canadian debut last month at the Montréal Auto Show, and Toronto, where the Soul will appear at the 2009 Canadian International Autoshow from February 13th – 22nd.
Prior to today’s launch, Kia ran a two-week national teaser campaign of three unbranded 15-second TV executions. Each wordless teaser featured an unsettling close-up of a character staring intently into the camera, seemingly peering into the viewer’s living room. Each teaser ended with the super, www.peerintoasoul.ca (www.jemevoisdanslasoul.ca in Quebec), directing viewers to the brand’s microsite. These executions generated an unprecedented spike in web traffic as well as spirited conversations on multiple blogs. With the release of the three spots that follow, the audience discovers these characters are part of larger cinematic stories that showcase Kia’s exciting new vehicle while divulging the back stories behind the teasers.
“From design features and fuel economy to level of customizability, the Soul is a game-changing vehicle, which is why we were thrilled to launch with a campaign that offered a thought-provoking approach to brand strategy and creative execution,” says Greg Hardy, national marketing manager, Kia Canada Inc. “The Soul is a unique style of vehicle in the Canadian marketplace.”
“Soul presented a unique opportunity to engage audiences with powerful storytelling and a viral aspect typically generated by internet content,” explained Pat Pirisi, creative director and co-creator of the campaign at Publicis. “By challenging the archetypal notions of what a car ad should be, we not only created intense interest on the airwaves but sustained it online in a meaningful way.”
Gary Holme, Publicis’ senior art director and campaign co-creator, added, “To speak to a hip urban target you have to communicate in a language they can relate to. In this case, we appropriated current influential film genres to entertain and involve an audience that typically rejects corporate messaging.”
The teaser campaign also included innovative co-branded components in key markets. Zenith Optimedia, Kia’s media agency of record, teamed with Canwest to leverage the return of the popular television program, “24.” Soul teaser visuals proceeded exclusive video content from “24” and were distributed to mobile phones.
The Kia Soul/24 partnership continues with a spy-themed online video game (www.winyoursoul.com), where would-be secret agents navigate through challenging puzzles, integrated with Soul content. The contest culminates in the giveaway of a Kia Soul in April at Toronto’s Eaton Centre.
In the Quebec market, the Soul will sing loudly with help from Zenith Optimedia and Astral Media. Contest-themed outdoor, online, radio and TV presence lead up to an event and Soul giveaway on the night of Britney Spears’ concert at Montreal’s Bell Centre on March 20th.
The spots were produced and directed by Untitled Film’s Mark Gilbert with Wes Anderson’s cinematographer Robert Yeoman. Post production was handled by Rooster, and audio by RMW Music.
Notes on the "Peer into a Soul" TV campaign from Untitled Films director Mark Gilbert:
I think the creative on these was really strong so we tried to elevate them in any way that we could.
The campaign is essentially based around these 15-second teasers of people staring into our living rooms. So we pushed the onlooker's gaze right up to the tipping point between the curious and the slightly unsettling. We wanted them to be intimate but to also stick with the viewer and create curiosity.
In the 30's, I love that the car is fully revealed only at the end. Everything leads to the car. But, because we thought the story was elsewhere (with the killer, the guy in the well or the mobsters), the Kia is the reverse McGuffin.
We wanted to tip our hat to classic film conventions while still giving the campaign a look that the Soul could own. Robert Yeoman, who has become one of my go to DP's, worked on these and did a brilliant job. We shot them all in California: Mobsters was shot on the back lot at Fox Studios, Cabin was shot at the Disney Ranch and Well was shot just outside of L.A. We actually got snowed out of one of our locations and had to make some last minute changes to the well location, but it all worked out in our favor in the end.
There was heaps of collaboration that went into these and I think that is why we ended up in such a good place. And, all props to the client for letting us push the envelope and do something fresh.
Print Campaign Credits:
Client: KIA Canada Inc.
Product: KIA Soul
Website: peerintoasoul.ca
Agency: Publicis, Toronto
Executive Creative Director: Duncan Bruce
Associate Creative Director: Gary Holme
Creative Director: Pat Pirisi
Art Director: Gary Holme
Writer: Pat Pirisi
Producer: Dale Harrison
VP, Brand Director: Tony Ciccia
Account Supervisor: Dan Clark
Photographer: George Simhoni, Westside Studio, Toronto
Digital Imaging: Mark Tyler/STIR
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