John Cusack wants to know: “Why just go from A to B when imagination can take you everywhere?” It’s a valid question, especially coming from the guy who played Lloyd Dobler. Would the boombox move from Say Anything exist with conventional thinking?
The tagline is the adspeak centerpiece of Commonwealth’s new Chevrolet campaign titled “Find New Roads.” The 90-second spot premiered last night alongside irresponsible tweets about Katy Perry‘s cleavage and Justin Timberlake’s bad haircut. Chevy’s ad acts as a trailer for what’s to come, showing off the Volt, Spark, Sonic, Impala, and Stingray. There’s also a robotic pet dog and a doe interacting, which may be awkward symbolism for combining technology and nature, but we can just pretend that part doesn’t exist. The response thus far has been positive, and the ad already racked up a six-figure view count on Youtube.
It makes sense for Commonwealth to jump outside the box. The agency, which unites folks from Goodby and McCann, was born thanks to unconventional thinking from ex-GM CMO Joel Ewanick, who didn’t want to waste money on Super Bowl ad space. One could easily see “Find New Roads” debuting during last week’s game, but it didn’t have to compete with farmers and sloppy kissing noises. GM fired Ewanick last summer, but his auto agency and some of his ideas are still in play, apparently.
I guess he didn’t try the boombox move with GM’s senior leadership. Credits after the jump.
Chief Creative Officer: Linus Karlsson
Chief Creative Officer: Jeff Goodby
Executive Creative Director: Matt Canzano
Executive Creative Director: Andreas Dahlqvist
Creative Director: Larry Frey
Chief Production Officer: Brian DiLorenzo
Director of Content: Jeff Beverly
Senior Producer: Stacey Gizinski
Senior Producer: Tricia Hoover
Senior Producer: Kelly Balagna
Executive Music Producer: Peter Gannon
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Deborah McCauley
Business Affairs Manager: Stacy Swann
Volt Segment
Director Volt, Smuggler: Brian Beletic
Executive Producer/Partner Smuggler: Patrick Milling Smith & Brian Carmody
Executive Producer/COO Smuggler: Lisa Rich
Executive Producer Smuggler: Allison Kunzman
Executive Producer Smuggler: Laura Thoel
Line Producer Volt: Leslie Chilcott
DOP Volt: Martin Ruhe
Spark Segment
Director Spark, Elastic/Pecubu: Angus Wall
Executive Producer Elastic/Pecubu: Jennifer Sofio
Executive Producer Elastic/Pecubu: Megan Meloth
Producer Elastic/Pecubu: Melinda Nugent
Producer Elastic/Pecubu: Jason Sterman
DOP Spark: Sal Totino
Sonic and Impala Segments
Director Sonic and Impala, Smuggler: Filip Engstrom
Producer Sonic, Smuggler: Patrick Fischer
Producer Impala, Smuggler: Dave Bernstein
DOP Sonic: Ulrik Bentzen
DOP Impala: Par Ekberg
Corvette Segment
Director Corvette, MJZ: Nicolai Fuglsig
President, MJZ: David Zander
Executive Producer, Corvette, MJZ: Emma Wilcockson
Producer, Corvette, MJZ: Suza Horvat
DOP Corvette: Robert Elswit
Edit
Anthem, Volt, Impala and Sonic segments
Editor, General Editorial: Noah Herzog
Executive Producer: Robert Parker
Spark segment
Editor, Rock Paper Scissors: Jamie Foord
Executive Producer: Linda Carlson
Executive Producer: Carol Lynn Weaver
Corvette segment
Editor, Rock Paper Scissors: Ted Guard
Executive Producer: Linda Carlson
Executive Producer: Carol Lynn Weaver
FX and Post
Anthem, Volt, Sonic, Impala segments
Creative Directors The Mill LA: Robert Sethi & Phil Crowe
Corvette Segment
VFX Supervisor The Mill NY Ben Smith & Angus Kneal
Spark Segment
VFX Supervisor A52: Andy McKenna
Music and Sound Design
Mixer Lime Studios: Loren Silber
Mixer Eleven Sound: Jeff Payne
Music Editor: Alice Woods
Volt Segment
Music: “Heavenly Day” original recording by Patty Griffin
Sound Design Jafbox Sound: Joseph Fraloli
Spark Segment
Music: “Cha Cha Cha” original recording by Jimmy Luxury
Sonic Segment
Music: “All Around the World” original recording by Theopholis London
Sound Design Henryboy: Bill Chesney
Impala Segment
Music: “Fly me to the Moon” original recording by Frank Sinatra
Corvette Segment
Music/Composer: Cliff Martinez
Sound Design Sound Deluxe: Lon Bender and Harry
Voiceover John Cusack