Land Rover's New Ad for CNN's 'Apollo 11' Documentary Inspires Discovery on Earth and Mars

To the untrained eye high above the surface, the Utah desert can look a lot like Mars. It’s red. It’s dusty. It’s mountainous. It’s barren. It’s foreboding. And that’s the point. A new ad for Land Rover shot at the Mars Desert Research Station features physician and scientist Shawna Pandya and focuses on her training as a citizen astronaut candidate who could someday travel far beyond the moon. The spot, created by CNN’s branded content studio, Courageous, will debut this summer before the IMAX screenings of the network’s feature documentary "Apollo 11: First Steps Edition," which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing in 1969. A separate spot will appear during "Apollo 11" when it airs on CNN. The spot begins with an aerial shot panning the desert landscape before following a fully suited Pandya as she walks on the ground and inside the training center. “Why do we explore? Why do we discover? I think discovery is a fundamental human trait. It’s what makes us human," she says. Not until then does the Land Rover appear, while Pandya's narration describes the purpose of training in a place like Utah even though it’s still nowhere near what it’ll be like on the red planet. “The bottom line is: space is trying to kill you,” she says. [kickout id="2"] Pandya told Adweek her lifelong interest in space began as a child, when she was “mesmerized by the night sky.” Later, while applying for medical school, she decided to apply for a space university program as a “backup plan.” But to her surprise, she got into both. She ended up taking a one-year deferral from medical school to complete the space program before going on to do an internship with European and U.S. space programs while also studying for her medical degree. “Shawna and the NASA league are the future of space exploration,” said Otto Bell, chief creative officer of Courageous. “It wasn’t easy to get them to participate because it is a commercial endeavor. We worked with Shawna to make sure that the film that we made together was additive, and that it was inspiring, and that it spoke to this idea of 'never stop discovering,' which obviously it’s Land Rover’s strap line.” Pandya is a physician by day. The space career is a bit of a side gig, but far from on the side. And that’s not all she does: she’s a pilot, a skydiver and a scuba diver, and she also has years of experience in martial arts. Later this year, she’s also doing a hyperbaric medicine course in Florida, a five-day underwater mission for some scientific research, another parabolic flight training session and a space-only medicine course. [kickout id="3"] All of these help her main goal: to get to space. But with everything else going on, why make time for a commercial? Pandya said it “reminds us that exploration and discovery are core human tenets.” “In this day and age, every company has their priorities," she said. "But when they step outside those bounds and celebrate something so fundamental to the core of humans like exploration … and then to bring it to life on the screen in the way they did, that was really cool." In one scene, Pandya steps out of the vehicle and makes an impression on the ground with her boot—a symbol of where humanity has gone and where it might go next. “It’s such a small shot in such a big desert, but it’s so important,” she said. “And the way it was captured was really reflective of Apollo, but also a reflection to the future, of who will be a part of the next mission?” [kickout id="1"] The spot is one of three that are being made to sponsor the film. Another for Land Rover features aerospace engineer Natalie Panek. A third, for Samsung’s QLED 8K TV, features retired astronaut Scott Kelly talking about his own experiences from space. (CNN is also creating a 360-degree virtual reality component of the campaign sponsored by Land Rover that will focus on the next 50 years of space travel.) “We never once mention that she’s a female astronaut or a woman candidate,” Bell said. “That was by design. We didn’t feel it was relevant to talk about this person being a woman or female scientist. The truth is self-evident.” Pandya said there is a “universality of space exploration.” “It’s for everyone,” she said. “Whether you’re a man or a woman or regardless of your ethnicity or background, there’s a place for you in space. And that’s something I try to underscore. … That’s something we wanted to speak for itself.” According to Stuart Schorr, vp of communications for Jaguar Land Rover North America, CNN’s audience matched the company’s customer base. On average, 44% of buyers are female, and 56% are male. And, like CNN’s audience, they tend to be highly educated and globally minded. However, it was also a chance for the brand to advance its own motto of “above and beyond”—having already done shoots in remote locations in North Africa and China. [kickout id="4"] The spot also let Land Rover, a British brand, pay tribute to something that’s both an American moment and a cultural moment. This isn’t the first space-themed marketing collaboration for an automotive manufacturer this year. Earlier this month, it announced a partnership with Virgin Galactic, which will allow people who buy one of Virgin’s future private flights to space to have their own limited-edition Range Rover. “We sort of like the juxtaposition of technology and adventure,” Schorr said. "And we felt the Apollo trip was part of the ultimate expedition, so it appealed to us right away to partner in the celebration of that.” Asked if the company hopes to put a Land Rover on Mars the way Virgin Galactic’s rival SpaceX put a Tesla in orbit, Schorr said that’s not the end goal. At least not for now. “This is a nice, safe step,” he said.

General

Land Rover's New Ad for CNN's 'Apollo 11' Documentary Inspires Discovery on Earth and Mars

It stars citizen astronaut candidate Shawna Pandya

Marty Swant

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Marty Swant