Ridley Scott and his son Jake Scott, who know a thing or two about Super Bowl advertising, teamed up to create LG’s first big game ad, “Man From The Future.”
The elder Scott, of course, directed Apple’s iconic “1984” spot, but LG’s effort is the first time he’s returning to Super Bowl advertising since then, in this case in an executive producer role. Jake Scott actually has more Super Bowl experience, having directed both “Puppy Love” and “Lost Dog” for Ab-InBev’s flagship adjunct lager brand Budweiser. Here the pair, it would appear without the aid of an ad agency, craft a sci-fi tinged effort for LG starring Liam Neeson. Neeson plays the title role in the spot, informing a man at a bar (his present day self, played by his son, Michael Neeson), “There is a revolution coming” before throwing a card that is transformed into a window into the future. “It will change everything,” Neeson adds, “that’s why they want to stop it.” The 60-second spot almost has the feel of a film trailer at times, which can make the reveal that it’s an ad for a television, following Neeson hinting that he’s himself from the future, a bit jarring and/or ridiculous. Still, the visual panache of the spot, coupled with Neeson’s star power, should attract viewers’ attention and the spot does make LG’s OLED TV look impressive.
“It’s a dynamic short film,” Ridley Scott said, in a statement. “It’s about the race to be on the vanguard of innovation and to be able to create tomorrow’s technology.”
“The objective was to create a world you’ve never seen before or a world that was unique and specific to the OLED,” added Jake Scott.