Wyclef, FCB and Some Old Horndog Return to Hype the FIAT 124 Spider

By Patrick Coffee 

We know Lauryn Hill has been busy pissing off her fans by showing up late to concerts or cancelling them altogether. But what about her fellow Fugee and former candidate for president of Haiti Wyclef Jean??

Turns out the man who said he was going to be gone ’til November is already back to promote the FIAT 124 Spider, a sports car so sexy that the company gave one to 2016’s Playmate of the Year. (They still have those??)

Wyclef has some help in this case from a real eagle enhanced with some CGI.

So it turns out that sometimes the great birds are jealous of us.

Advertisement

The behind the scenes short is kind of cool in tracing the falconer’s work in getting the birds to do “exactly what we want.” We would argue that they did a better job of acting than the extras.

The campaign also includes Doner’s “No Blue Pill Needed,” which is the sequel to the original “Blue Pill.”

Did you get that one, or was it too subtle for you?

Here’s what the client’s CMO Olivier Francois had to say about the work:

“Our creative mindset is to always innovate. ‘Free Like a Bird’ is the first commercial ever filmed by an eagle and this distinctive approach demanded music that was equally compelling to serve as the backdrop for the image, and Wyclef Jean enthusiastically jumped at the opportunity, creating a track that is likely to be another chart topper.

‘No Blue Pill Needed’ leverages the strength of the original award-wining ‘Blue Pill,’ which has over 30 million views on YouTube. Allowing our followers to act as a sound board for our campaigns has proven successful for the brand in the past. Posting longer-form versions of both videos – which first appeared during the reveal of the Fiat 124 Spider at the Geneva auto show and L.A. auto show, respectively – across the FIAT brand’s digital and social channels gives us the opportunity to see the fans’ reactions to both and inspire our decision when it comes time to select the official television campaign.”

He did not, however, elaborate on the nature of the relationship between his company and FCB Chicago.

We are also quite curious as to how much this car will cost and what sort of consumers might be legitimately interested in buying it. But in order to find out one has to…you guessed it…sign up for email updates from FIAT Chrysler.

Who are we kidding. We’ve never owned a car.

 

CREDITS

Client: FIAT
Chief Marketing Officer:  Olivier François
Director of FCA US brand advertising: Marissa Hunter
Head of Brand Communications: Casey Hurbis
FIAT USA Advertising Manager: Meghan England

Agency: FCB Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: Todd Tilford
VP, Creative Director: Gustavo Dorrietto
Associate Creative Director: Marinna Ruiz
Executive Producer: Jenny Hoffman
Manager of Business Affairs: Kelly Lenthe
EVP, Group Management Director: Kelly Graves
VP, Management Director:  Brooke Ward
Senior Editor: Steve Immer
Post Production: Lord + Thomas
Production: Pulse Films
Director: D.A.R.Y.L. —Edward Lovelace and James Hall (director team)
Other partners: Freedom Conservation
Directors of Photography: Roi, Victor, Fletcher (white tailed eagles)

Advertisement