Newly returned from their feature debut, ALIEN VS. PREDATOR 2, The Brothers Strause, Colin and Greg, have created a striking ad for the 2008 Mercury Mariner in which a car is built by sound waves.
SOUND WAVES, part of a larger campaign helmed by the Brothers and created by Y&R Team Detroit and produced by Tight Films, employs the latest 3D animation technology to create visually captivating images of the 2008 Mercury Mariner that focus on the vehicle's design features and its available hybrid powertrain.
The Brothers Strause, the award-winning team whose latest credits include vfx supervision on 300 and X-MEN: THE LAST with Hydraulx, the Santa Monica-based vfx company that they own.
Hydraulx researched particle and fluid movement and created their own computer code to generate the sound wave effect in the first Mariner spot.
SOUND WAVES opens with Mercury spokesperson Jill Wagner posing the question, "What happens when an idea strikes just the right note?" Wagner taps the Mercury logo and sound waves reverberate and take shape in the form of the Mercury Mariner. The image then comes into focus to highlight the new design features of the vehicle, both inside and out.
"We've put a lot of creative power behind these ads because we want to underscore the design sophistication of the 2008 Mercury Mariner," said Mike Richards, Lincoln Mercury general marketing manager. "The Mariner is a very important vehicle to our line-up as it has proven to be very effective in attracting new customers to the Mercury brand. The latest sales data shows more than a 48% conquest rate for the Mercury Mariner and that it has been well-received among a diverse range of consumers."
Two additional TV spots, also directed by The Brothers Strause, are planned to begin airing later this month. A similar creative approach will be carried through to the online ad campaign, which also is slated to begin in April.
For info on Hydraulx, go to: www.hydraulx.com.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
