Veloz: Kicking Gas by Superconductor

‘Kicking Gas’ is an integrated campaign starring Arnold Schwarzenegger that mimics the launch of a summer blockbuster mixed with a hidden camera show. Created for Veloz, a non-profit group dedicated to increasing electric car sales, the films feature Schwarzenegger going undercover as a colorful, mustache-wearing used car salesman named Howard Kleiner on a mission to sell gas-guzzlers to people who want electric cars.

The campaign by agency Superconductor, in collaboration with Oak Productions and Bullitt, and directed by Emmy-Award winning Josh Greenbaum, includes a three-minute video, plus teaser spots, out-of-home, and social and display ads, all centered on the ‘Kicking Gas’ theme.

The film starts with ‘Kleinman’ speaking to a lot full of customers through a public address system, thanking them for choosing “muscle cars that use gasoline.” He then sets out in a Hawaiian shirt and baseball cap, with a black wig and really fake-looking mustache, to try to talk people out of buying electric. With one couple, he roars up in an exhaust-spewing Hummer. With another couple, he states that a gas pump is “more satisfying than sex.” With one customer, he gives them a bumper sticker that says ‘carpool lanes are for sissies.’

At the end of the film, Schwarzenegger states: “Electric cars save money, time and the environment without sacrificing any of the fun and excitement of driving…go to Electricforall.org and join us.”