Acura RDX: Wall Art

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Released:	January 2009
Advertiser:	ACURA
Brand name:	Acura RDX
Agency:	RPA
Country:	USA
Category:	Cars
Tags:	SUV Stop-Motion Creativity tv-spot

Credits:

Advertised brand: Acura RDX
Advert title(s): “Wall Art”
Translation of headline to English: not applicable
Advertising Agency (Name, City, Country): RPA, Santa Monica, California, USA
Agency website: http://www.rpa.com
Chief Creative Officer: David Smith

Creative Director: John Hage
Senior Art Directors: Dan Buchmeier, Phillip Squier
Copywriter: Jeff Mullen

Agency Executive Producer: Jack Epsteen
Agency Senior Producer: Carolyn Casey
Production Co: Epoch Films
Executive Producer: Jerry Solomon
Line Producer: Pat Harris
Directors: Ben Foley/ Chris Hopewell (Collision Films)
Cameraman: Daniel Kutner
Music Company: Elias Arts
Composer: Kenny Segal

Sound Designer: Dean Hovey
Elias Creative Director: Dave Gold
Elias Executive CD: Jonathan Elias

Elias Executive Prod: Ann Haugen
Visual Effects Company: Moving Pictures Company
MPC Exec Producer: Mark Tobin
Visual Effects Artist: Adam Frazier
Visual FX Producer: Allyson Nevil
Offline Editor: Wendy Sandoval

Sound Mix Company: Ravenswork
Sound Mixer: Robert Feist
Telecine Company: Moving Pictures Company
Colorist: Mark Gethin

Published/Released (Month, Year): 1/18/09

Airing for the first time on Jan. 18, the new Acura RDX spot, “Wall Art,” reveals the turbocharged crossover SUV’s city prowess—darting through alleys, ducking around corners, navigating the urban landscape.

In fact, it’s the landscape that really sets this spot apart. Enlisting the director duo of Chris Hopewell and Ben Foley of Collision Films (previous work includes music videos for Radiohead and Franz Ferdinand), this RDX commercial uses stop-frame animation techniques while plugging into the street art phenomenon. Famed Bristol, UK-based street artist Sainty (Henry St Leger), along with a team of 17 graffiti artists and painters, brought this idea to life on a massive 100-foot by 40-foot wall. All art was done by artists, not CGI.

“Wall Art” opens with an RDX parked in front of a blank wall. This same wall is painted and repainted with cityscape scenes, hundreds and hundreds of times, to animate the background behind the vehicle. The 10-day shoot for “Wall Art” used more than 450 gallons of paint and 500 cans of spray paint, resulting in more than 400 layers of paint on the wall.

“Wall Art” is premised on the RDX’s turbocharged engine, agile handling and sporty stance—the RDX is perfect for the city. The spot instills a sense of artistry and upscale sophistication in the brand.

Featuring a combination of large-scale street art and stop-frame animation set to Elias Arts composer Kenny Segal’s track, the commercial literally illustrates that the RDX is equipped for anything the city can create. The spot breaks during the AFC Championship game on CBS and will continue to run on sports and high-profile programming such as 24, Criminal Minds and The Mentalist.