After a seven year hiatus, Nissan returned to the Super Bowl. We showed off the thrilling, transformative power of the Nissan Z by turning America’s favorite dad into a suave action movie star. To promote our SBLVI debut, we positioned THRILL DRIVER as a major motion picture, teasing it as if it were an upcoming Hollywood film: with motion picture posters, YouTube film critic teaser reviews, an adult collectible action figure of Eugene Levy, and a first-of-its-kind Snapchat lens that turned our competitor’s car commercial into a thrilling Nissan experience.

Within 48 hours, Business Insider declared our “official trailers” as the #1 trending spot on YouTube’s AdBlitz. Post game, Thrill Driver was ranked as iSpot’s #2 most liked ad, FastCo’s #3 best SB ad, in Adweek’s top 10, and as one of the game’s top 5 most viewed ads, with 63MM+ views and 715MM+ impressions overall. The campaign was picked up by The Today Show, Bloomberg, Adweek, AdAge, CampaignUS, RoadShow, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, CampaignLive, Business Wire, and more.

PRESS
2nd Most Likable Super Bowl Ad - iSpot/AdAge
AdWeek 10 Best Super Bowl Commercials
Fast Company 5 Best Super Bowl Commercials
Top 15 USA Today Ad Meter
Top 5 Most Viewed on YouTube AdBlitz
#1 Buzz-Generating Ad (Business Insider)
Today Show Best Ads

THRILL DRIVER OFFICIAL :60

NISSAN PRESENTS OFFICIAL TRAILER #1

NISSAN PRESENTS OFFICIAL TRAILER #2

Popular YouTube film critics The Film Theorists and Chris Stuckmann reviewed our official trailers, as if Thrill Driver was a real film.

We strategically placed hand-illustrated movie promo posters around LA, the Super Bowl host city.

The internet couldn’t get enough of Eugene’s new thirst trap look.

Even Eugene’s family couldn’t help themselves from weighing in. We didn’t pay them.

We turned Eugene Levy into a limited-edition adult collectible action figure. Each “Action Eugene” came accessorized with his Z keys and coffee mug from the ad, along with the same temporary dragon tattoos he rocked in the spot. We sent them to unboxing influencers Vat19 and Unbox Therapy, and Superfans who interacted with us on social.

AND we were the first auto brand to develop a lens that used machine-learning technology to recognize and transform any vehicle into a Nissan 400 Z, on a screen and IRL.

No Hollywood movie is complete without a bank of reaction Giphys.

Al Roker even gave us a “Cock-A-Doodle-Doo” seal of approval.

CREDITS

OVERALL CAMPAIGN, TRAILERS + TVC
CCO . . . . . . . . . . . . CHRIS BERESFORD-HILL
ECD . . . . . . . . . . . . DAVID BANTA
ECD . . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN PARKER
ACD CW . . . . . . . . . . . . PHIL FATTORE
ACD ART . . . . . . . . . . . . ALYSSA FISHMAN
HEAD OF PROD . . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN DORIS
GROUP EP . . . . . . . . . . . . SUMER FRIEDRICHS
SR INT PROD . . . . . . . . . . . . JONNY WEISS
GCD . . . . . . . . . . . . MIKE BLANCH

SOCIAL + ACTIVATIONS
ECD . . . . . . . . . . . . DAVID BANTA
ECD . . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN PARKER
CD . . . . . . . . . . . . SHAWNA KLEIN
ACD CW . . . . . . . . . . . . PHIL FATTORE
ACD ART . . . . . . . . . . . . . ALYSSA FISHMAN
AD . . . . . . . . . . . . LAUREN BYERS
CW . . . . . . . . . . . . WES RHODES

TOY PACKAGING DESIGN
ECD . . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN PARKER
CD . . . . . . . . . . . . SHAWNA KLEIN
ACD ART . . . . . . . . . . . . ALYSSA FISHMAN
ACD COPY . . . . . . . . . . . . PHIL FATTORE
SR DESIGNER . . . . . . . . . . . . NEL SPARKMAN
RETOUCHER . . . . . . . . . . . . ENRIQUE BOSCH

PRODUCTION
DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . CRAIG GILLESPIE
DP . . . . . . . . . . . . PHILLIPE LE SOURD
LINE PROD . . . . . . . . . . . . SUZA HORVAT
EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . ED LINE
EDITOR . . . . . . . . . . . . STEPHANIA DULOWSKI
MIX . . . . . . . . . . . . JOEL WATERS, LIME
VFX . . . . . . . . . . . . THE MILL/MPC
COLOR . . . . . . . . . . . . MARK GETHEN
MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . MUSIC & STRATEGY

ACTION FIGURE
LIGHTNING BOLTZ ACTION FIGURES

MOVIE POSTER ART
LITTLE GIANT STUDIOS