Audi gets tough during debate, with support from VB&P and major Hollywood talent
Independent San Francisco agency Venables Bell & Partners (VB&P) is releasing a feat of reverse engineering during the presidential debate tonight. The agency will air its new spot for Audi and it’s a doozy of a fight scene run entirely in reverse.
The spot, titled “Duel,” shows a man and woman dressed in tuxes fighting over what looks to be a square of colored paper. We see them slinging punches and generally making a terrible mess of a hotel – all in reverse. The story unfolds and we watch as they fall up through a skylight, break a lobster tank, hurl the aforementioned lobsters at each other, throw kicks and punches all to land the piece of paper.
The "James-Bondian" short film concludes as we see an Audi RS7 drive up as the two try to decide which of them will get to valet the car. The tag “Beautiful things are worth fighting for. Choose the next driver wisely” puts a bow on the whole affair.
VB&P and Audi decided to release the ad during the presidential debate because the race to be the next commander-in-chief has never been more fierce and it could heat up to become the fight of the century.
There are a few Easter eggs hidden in the spot, including seeing a “Presidential Tower” of a building in the background and a classified email on a cell phone. Those little nods make this 90-second ad a winner — but the powerhouse production team takes it to the next level.
Ringan Ledwidge, one of the most sought-after commercial directors, named the “Most Awarded Director in the World” by the Gunn Report in 2015, leads the effort with other great Hollywood talent including cinematographer Greig Fraser (who’s shot features like the yet to be released Star Wars, Fox Catcher and Zero Dark Thirty), Oscar nominated designer K.K. Barrett (Her, Adaptation, Lost in Translation, Where the Wild Things Are) and Robert Alonzo, one of the most in-demand stunt choreographers in the business (Iron Man, Deadpool, Avengers, Mission Impossible).
Credits:
Audi/RS7 “Duel” :90/:60
Client Name: Audi of America
Brand: Audi
Spot Name: Duel
Air Dates: 9/26/16, 10/9/16, 10/19/16
Agency: Venables Bell & Partners
Founder, Chairman: Paul Venables
Partner, Executive Creative Director: Will McGinness
Creative Director: Justin Moore
Creative Director: Erich Pfeifer
ACD/Copywriter: Matt Keats
ACD/Art Director: Matt Miller
Director Of Integrated Production: Craig Allen
Senior Producer: Matt Flaker
Producer: Gabby Gardner
Head Of Brand Management: David Corns
Production Company: Rattling Stick
Director: Ringan Ledwidge
Director of Photography: Greig Fraser
Head of Production: Richard McIntosh
Executive Producer: Joe Biggins
Executive Producer: Jeff Shupe
Line Producer: Greg Haggart
Stunt Coordinator: Robert Alonzo
Production Designer: K.K. Barrett
Editing Company: Work Editorial
Editor: Rich Orrick
Assistant Editor: Mike Horan
Executive Producer: Marlo Baird
Producer: Brandee Probasco
Music Company: Woodwork Music
Music Composer: Philip Kay
Music Coordinator: Andy Oskwarek
Sound Design/Final Mix: The Sound Lab at Technicolor
Executive Producer: Debbie Gonzalez
Lead Sound Designer/Mix Engineer: Scott Gershin
Sound Designer: Johannes Hammers
VFX: The Mill
Executive Creative Director: Phil Crowe
VFX Supervisor: John Shirley
CG Lead: David Lawson
VFX Senior Producer: Anastasia von Rahl
VFX Associate Producer: Karina Slater
Colorist: Greg Reese
Brand Director: Chris Bergen
Brand Supervisor: Justin Wang
Brand Manager: Abu Ngauja
Project Managers: Talya Fisher, Leah Murphy