Audi ad reveals Le Mans driver experience

This beautiful new ad for Audi from BBH London stars Audi Le Mans team leader Allan McNish and gives a real insight into the physical endurance required to be a Le Mans driver...

Directed by Chris Hemming at Passion Pictures, the ad is two-and-a-half minutes in length and incorporates a mixture of live action, hand-drawn sketches and stereoscopic techniques. The 2D version is shown above, but a 3D version will play out on Sky 3D during the Champions League final on Saturday and also in cinemas.

"Audi were keen to promote Le Mans, as it is an unsung success for them," says Kevin Stark, creative director at BBH. "They have won it nine out of eleven times in the last few years. I was lucky to see Le Mans winner Allan McNish at the Audi National Forum. He did a five-minute lecture on the famous endurance race, but from the driver's  perspective. I thought this might have potential to answer our brief. We wanted to bring a human aspect to Audi communications and Allan's off-beat and likeable style was a good fit."

"Next step was to get this into a manageable time length film," continues Stark. "And also see if we could further increase the exciting, sensory experience of driving the race. We approached animator Chris Hemming at Passion Pictures. Chris and his artist Tim Marrs did some great, expressive style sketches that enhanced what Allan was saying but without drowning his performance. Allan was filmed using 3D live action cameras, but Chris had the idea that we could make the hand-drawn sketch style 3D too, but also using stereoscopic techniques. The result is a fresh-looking piece of animation that works well in 2D but really comes alive in 3D."

Credits:
Ad agency: BBH London
ECD: Nick Gill
Senior creative directors: Nick Kidney, Kevin Stark
Production company: Passion Pictures
Director: Chris Hemming