Audi’s Cinematic New Campaign Tells a Majestic Tale of Pioneers

Audi has teamed up with production company GOOD-IDEA for a second time to deliver its new electric car campaign, ‘Living Progress Stories’. The trio of commercials stars an array of celebrated pioneers in their respective fields: astronaut Chris Hadfield, architect Omar Gandhi, and Bryon and Dexter Peart, founders of sustainable home goods brand Goodee.

Celebrating Audi’s new electric range, the spots draw parallels between the stories of the featured stars and the vehicles - as all break the mould in their own categories. Rooted in a blank studio setting, the car is the sole, magnetic focus of our attention, sparking the curiosity of the stars as they carefully examine it. Close ups of sleek features illuminated in varying hues paired with headlights beaming out in the darkness endow the campaign with a grand sense of the cinematic.

For this latest campaign, Audi looked to tie the ethos and experience of renowned talents Chris Hadfield, Omar Gandhi, and Bryon and Dexter Peart to its new fleet of electric cars. Director Ross Allen, producer Ben Chick, and director of photography Mitchell Baxter of GOOD-IDEA were therefore tasked with honing their visual approach to showcase these engaging stories in a way that takes viewers on a journey of intrigue - all without leaving the confines of the Montreal studio in which they were shooting.

The trio of films boasts an elevated aesthetic, thanks in part to the cinematic use of lighting. Needing a large source to illuminate every nook and cranny of the car, Mitchell Baxter and gaffer Hugo Ferland-Dionne rigged up a large softbox with multiple rows of LED fixtures. This allowed them the ability to program each fixture into a console and dramatically alter the visual vocabulary through colour and light movement. They then paired this with larger tungsten units to splash on the background, building separation between the car and setting. 

Lens choice also played a pivotal role in the final look. Wanting something sharp and premium while offering vintage character when flaring in the headlights, Mitchell opted for a rehoused set of Leica R lenses from the late ‘70s which struck the perfect balance. 

To elicit the best performance from the talent, director Ross Allen interviewed them on topics they’re passionate about, looking out for authentic connections between their stories and the key characteristics of the car to highlight how there’s more to the cars than meets the eye. Encouraging the contributors to carefully examine and interact with the design and engineering, the team captured on screen a palpable atmosphere of curiosity that draws the viewer in. 

One of the biggest challenges during production was the schedule, as all three films needed to be shot in one day. With two hours to work with each contributor - including the interview and b-roll sections - the GOOD-IDEA team had to come well prepared, finding a workflow that didn’t compromise the quality or story of each film. 

Looking after the project from production onward, GOOD-IDEA stayed present throughout post, working with Calum Moore and John Gallagher at Outsider Editorial on director cuts, as well as with Clinton Homuth at Artjail and Andrew Harris and Ethan Myers at Vapor Music.

Ross Allen, co-founder and partner at GOOD-IDEA, comments, “GOOD-IDEA is passionate about story. We focus on blurring the lines between commercial and narrative. Our aim is to make the audience feel something, and I hope we did with this campaign. We’ve built a great relationship with Audi, and we knew they’d trust us to focus on what matters and have a clear plan to execute. That helped us elevate the campaign, creating scale, tension, and intrigue and ultimately landing the idea in the editorial.”