A year after launching its Rafale model, the French carmaker Renault is set to show drivers that the vehicle is “born to take driving pleasure to ever new heights.” Borrowing its name from the legendary aircraft, the Caudron-Renault Rafale, the car also shares some of the plane’s defining characteristics: technology, boldness, agility, and design. But unlike the flying machine, the new Rafale is designed to “Stick to the Road.”
Developed in partnership with ad agency Publicis Conseil, the campaign is centered around a short film that invites viewers on a surreal journey. Directed by Nicolas Perez Veiga via ICONOCLAST, the video explores the aeronautical heritage of the brand, contouring the SUV car as if it’s about to take off.
The hero spot portrays the world as it tilts; all the elements showcased in the video are subjected to gravity, sliding away under its force. Except for the Renault Rafale, which is spotted smoothly gliding through the streets, making its way toward the horizon.
Depicting the car as it takes off mirrors a plane’s ascent, subtly reminding viewers of Renault’s aeronautical heritage. Tiphanie Doucet’s reinterpretation of the iconic track “Big Jet Plane” playing as a soundtrack further emphasizes the comparison, creatively pointing out to the aviation genes the Rafale proudly carries in its DNA.
“After trying the Rafale hyper hybrid E-Tech 4×4 300 hp, the film concept proposed by the agency felt like a no-brainer. The machine sticks to the road (4×4), it’s agile (4Control), serene (300 hp), enduring (hyper hybrid), everything needed for a spectacular film. All that was missing was an aerial soundtrack, unexpected and glamorous… this French cover of ‘Big Jet Plane’ by Tiphanie Doucet,” explained Arnaud Belloni, CMO at Renault Global.
To bring the tilted world to life and make the characters and elements respond to the force of gravity, the artists had to plan every detail carefully and meticulously ahead of filming. To achieve a dynamic environment, the team mounted the set on hydraulic jacks, while the actors and objects were controlled using cables. All effects were captured in-camera and directly on set, thus achieving visual illusions that seem as authentic and as convincing as possible.
CREDITS
Brand: Renault
Agency: Publicis Conseil
