Steven Tyler And Emerson Fittipaldi Race Back in Time in Kia Super Bowl Ad
Created by AOR David&Goliath, Kia’s 60-second Super Bowl spot, titled ‘Feel Something Again’, stars legendary rocker Steven Tyler at an old abandoned racetrack. With the familiar notes of “Dream On” playing backwards, Tyler looks as though he’s about to race the Stinger against another legend, two-time Formula One and Indianapolis 500 champion Emerson Fittipaldi. After a moment of reflection, rather than driving the car forward, Tyler takes the car backwards around the track, in reverse. When he comes to a stop, he finds himself in the early 1970s – a young rock star in his prime, at a moment when he felt most alive. The spot ends with the on-screen text “Feel Something Again.”
David Angelo, founder & chairman of D&G said: “After test driving the Stinger and all its competitors, the biggest difference was that the Stinger made me feel something. The challenge was to bring that feeling to life in a way that was totally unexpected. Kind of like driving backwards on a racetrack to another point in time. We chose Steven Tyler because like the Stinger, he is a challenger brand himself with an ageless, audacious spirit. And while the expectation would be to use humor, we purposefully chose a more serious and epic tone to properly reflect the Stinger’s persona and where the Kia brand is going.”
D&G worked with Nicolai Fuglsig of MJZ, world renowned director of “12 Strong,” to give the spot an epic cinematic, almost haunting, tone.
David added: “One of the biggest challenges was authentically re-creating the 25-year-old version of Steven. We had to get that absolutely right. Fortunately, thanks to the amazing artists at the Mill, we were able to get the glowing approval of Steven, his daughter, friends and a handful of rockers who know him best. With the help of Human, an LA-based music company, and Steven Tyler, we created an original music composition that gradually transforms into Tyler’s ‘Dream On’ – a song about the passage of time – almost as if it was a distant memory that resurfaced as he raced back through the years.”
The driving in reverse concept not only hearkens back to the spirit of youth in both Tyler and Kia, but it’s also a change of course for the brand, which is proving to buck the conventions of the auto industry at every turn.
The Stinger Super Bowl campaign started with the 15-second ‘Fittipaldi’ online teaser on January 25th. A 30-second launch spot, ‘The Rise,’ will go live in broadcast during the Super Bowl pre-game on Sunday, February 4th. The 60-second ‘Feel Something Again’ will post on YouTube the morning of Thursday, February 1st and will air during the 3rd quarter of the Big Game. Then, beginning Monday, February 5th, a 30-second spot titled ‘What Every Racer Needs’ will begin airing to sustain the campaign.
Kia also has a little surprise in the spot to inspire people engage with the brand via social media. Based on the phenomenon of rock and roll musicians hiding secret messages in their albums in the '70s, Steven Tyler included a little message into the spot. People who watch the spot on YouTube can hear something strange but will only make out the actual message when watching the spot in reverse, which will be provided on the brand’s channel. On Twitter Kia will engage with their audience to see who got the hidden message right.
