Chloé Zhao, who earlier this year won Best Picture and Director Oscars for Nomadland, directed this spot for Ford out of Wieden+Kennedy New York. Titled “Make It Revolutionary,” the commercial debuts during the opening ceremonies of the 2021 Olympic Games. For the film, Zhao brings the human side of the transition to electric vehicles to the fore, showing how this revolutionary technology can still feel incredibly familiar. Zhao’s human-centric approach to storytelling enabled her to draw out extraordinary performances from a cast of primarily non-actors.
Zhao–who directed the Ford project via production house Caviar–also has a personal connection with the Ford brand. She built a camper van out of a Ford Transit and often travels and works from it. The protagonists in her films are often seen driving a Ford vehicle.
“Make It Revolutionary” was a green production from end-to-end, indicative of the breadth of Ford’s larger sustainability goals as a company.
In 2021 alone, Ford has electrified three of its iconic nameplates, with the introduction of the F-150 Lightning, the Mustang Mach-E, and the E-Transit van, vehicles that are fun to drive and have unique performance and capabilities only possible because of electrification.
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Credits
Client Ford Agency Wieden+Kennedy New York Karl Lieberman, executive creative director; Stuart Jennings, Eric Helin, creative directors; Jake Thompson, copywriter; Alex McClelland, art director; Nick Setounski, head of integrated production; Jess Griffeth, executive producer; Jordan Leinen, sr. producer; Rodrigo Nino, producer; Alix Toothman, strategy director. Production Caviar Chloé Zhao, director; Greig Fraser, DP; Rebecca Donaghe, line producer; Michael Sagol, managing partner. Editorial Joint Matt Burke, editor; Elaine Green, Matt Clark, editorial assistant; Kari Ickert, sr. post producer; Michelle Carman, exec producer. VFX Preymaker Adrian Hurley, VFX supervisor; Greg Cutler, Kevin Quinlan, VFX 2D lead; Kevin Quinlan , Simon Holden, Hieu Phan, Tim Bird, Raymond Volker, Matthew Tremaglio, Phil Massimino, Ben Weaver, VFX artists; Zach Fortin, Gwen Frey, Katherine Lannon, VFX producers; Melanie Wickham, Verity Kneale, exec producers. Color Company 3 Jill Bogdanowicz, colorist; Matt Moran, color producer. Music Emile Mosseri, composer. Music Premier Music Group Winslow Bright, music supervisor/exec producer. Audio Post Sonic Union Steve Rosen, sound designer/mix engineer; Joey Glick, assistant engineer; Justine Cortale, studio director.
Pearson has launched its first global brand campaign in more than five years as the 182-year-old company continues its evolution into an AI-enabled education and reskilling leader.
The campaign centers on a series of cinematic films featuring real learners in conversation with their younger selves. Using AI to recreate earlier versions of each participant, the films allow individuals to reflect on pivotal decisions, moments of doubt, and turning points that shaped their futures. The creative approach blends emerging technology with documentary storytelling grounded in lived experience.
At a time when AI’s role in both education and creativity is under intense scrutiny, Pearson has taken a deliberate and considered approach. The technology is used not as spectacle, but as a reflective storytelling device, built around consent, authenticity, and human agency. It reflects Pearson’s strong support for AI in augmenting human potential with learning at the core.
The first learner stories spotlight U.S.-based individuals, with additional international profiles launching later this spring as part of an ongoing global series that Pearson produced with VaynerMedia for creative, and Hummingbird and Tool of North America for production. Aqsa Altaf and John X. Carey via Hummingbird teamed to direct the “Impact Stories” films.
This film introduces us to Jasmine who meets her younger 27-year-old self. The younger Jasmine has two kids and is pregnant with a third. She and her two children are living in a domestic violence shelter, sleeping on an inflatable mattress with a slow air leak. Now getting a Pearson education and on her way to realizing her dreams seven years later, Jasmine gets to impart a message of inspiration to her younger self.
