Cadillac moved from it historic home of Detroit to New York, where this spot is set.
Titled “The Arena” and directed by Doug Liman via Independent Media for Publicis NY and UK, this ad is filmed from inside a car as it drives around downtown NY, contrasting the color, vibrancy, style and feel of the neighborhoods against an emotional rendition of Theodore Roosevelt’s iconic “Man In The Arena Speech” voiced by Kimberly Dube and advocating that we “Dare Greatly” in life.
Client Cadillac Agency Publicis New York/Publicis UK Andy Bird, executive creative director; Kevin Colquhoun, Gregor Findlay, creatives; Lisa Bifulco, chief production officer; Nikki Brancati, executive producer; Theresa Notartomaso, music producer; Dylan Williams, global chief strategy and innovation officer; Carla Serrano, chief strategy officer; Julie Levin, chief marketing officer; Ben Zumsteg, strategy director; Anthony Harris, strategist; Sabine Roehl, creative director of digital design; Roman Tsukerman, associate creative director; Dawn Winchester, chief digital officer; Lissa Robinson, executive interactive producer. Production Independent Media Doug Liman, director; Susanne Preissler, exec producer; Marc Siegel, head of production; Denise Rocchietti, producer; Janusz Kaminski, DP. Editorial Lost Planet Hank Corwin, editor; Federico Brusilovsky, assistant editor; Krystn Wagenberg, EP/producer; Lauren Hafner Addison, producer. Audio Record & Mix Sound Lounge Tom Jucarone, mixer. Sound Design Lost Planet Hank Corwin, sound designer. Visual Effects The Mill Melanie Wickham, exec producer; Jason Bartnett, producer; Gavin Wellsman, VFX lead; Hitesh Patel, VFX supervisor. Music Asche & Spencer Matt Locher, exec producer. Talent Kimberly Dube, voiceover.
Steve Fuller wrote, directed and served as artificial intelligence creative lead on this AI spec film for the Amazon Fire TV Stick.
Fuller took on the spec piece not as a tech demo but rather as a storytelling experiment. He was no stranger to AI going into the project, having deployed it for the past couple of years on treatments and as a means to supercharge his design work. Still, the veteran director--who’s enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Jeff Lewis’ The Directors Network--felt the need to learn and experience more when it came to AI. Thus he initiated a spec piece so he could integrate AI even better into his narrative toolbox.
Spurred on by a desire to discover how his directing instincts could translate into the best utilization of AI resources, Fuller came up with a creative concept for a product he was a user and fan of--the Fire TV Stick. What if a treasure trove of iconic characters and worlds were racing towards a huge Fire TV Stick in the middle of a desert, converging there in order to compete for viewer attention? And the climax of the spot has a household about to make the fateful choice for what they’re going to watch from all these varied options and forms of entertainment.
While via AI he was able to amass major celebrity talent and elements of blockbuster entertainment franchises for the Fire TV Stick adventure, that wasn’t the objective for Fuller who explained, “I was not trying to make a short film and suddenly have it star Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise. Instead I wanted to see if I could use AI to make a really big and epic commercial.” The spec project was designed to open up the opportunity to curate imagery, create video sequences--all the while making choices as a director. “I approached it as I... Read More
