Outsider's Jörn Threlfall and The Richards Group launch new ads for Hyundai

Director Jörn Threlfall of Outsider USA has helmed a new three-spot Hyundai campaign via The Richards Group/Huntington Beach. Threlfall directed the three very different styles for the project.

Threlfall admitted that his personal favorite spot of the campaign is "Life Shapes." On paper, the spot's concept of human shape construction might seem risky, but after bringing in New York dance group Pilobolus, Threlfall knew he was involved with something special. "This was a very exciting and organic process, with nothing storyboarded," said Threlfall, who noted that he wanted the action to speak for itself. "Of great significance to me was the idea that this was an 'event', and throughout the spot the viewer is constantly reminded that these are human shapes creating this," he said. The spot was created entirely in camera, including Pilobolus forming the shape of the Hyundai at the spot's end. "My background in physical theatre helped, I think, and we did lots of experimentation with shapes," Threlfall explained. "In terms of its originality as a car spot, I find this very enticing and captivating, hypnotic and unique. The whole campaign was an invigorating experience."

Shot on location in Nevada's Valley of Fire, "Water Slide" is part joyride, part theme-park ride. "Water slides are not very common in the UK, so it felt like a very American project to me," Threlfall noted. "Once we found the right landscape – no mean feat – we had to find a 300-foot long yellow slide, and bring in eight huge water trucks to accommodate it." On an even more practical level, the production needed to make sure the material they did use would work well for the car and the driver. How did the stunt work out? "You can decide for yourself," Threlfall observed. "What you see is what you get."

For "Maze", Outsider USA went indoors, building a large set and creating some set extensions in post. "We wanted to do as much in camera as possible," Threlfall said, "but we extended the verticality in post to create the sense that everything is not quite what it seems." The spot withholds the reveal as long as possible, feeding the monotony and repetition leading up to the moment the protagonist discovers the car in a surreal setting. For the final aerial shot, revealing the maze, the production created a CG maze which was composited into the scene behind the existing practical wall.