Michelin x BETC

Michelin's Motion For Life spot by French agency BETC stands apart.

Visually striking, this short film works on any screen (including low-sound, no-sound environments) because of the high contrast between the gorgeous photography and the CG cartooning of the tires that recall the company's character mascot.

And with the sound turned up, it works even better.

It opens on a straight stretch of desert road. An old-school, boxy Land Rover Defender with bright white, black outlined tires speeds forward.

Inside the cab, the driver changes the music to a jaunty backing track - Galvanize by The Chemical Brothers (2005, Electronic). And then a tour of humankind and tires begins.

The sets bounce around the world like a Tintin story. Mumbai. Shanghai. Seoul. New York. Paris. Then finally, back to the desert road again.

Each change brings different products into the frame. Off road 4x4 tires. Motorbike tires. Tuktuks. Bikeshaws. Sports cars. Work vans. Mopeds. Electric cars. Snowplows. Pickup trucks. A tractor. Bicycles. A firetruck. An airplane. A train. Another truck, towing a piece of construction equipment. Then back to the off-roader.

There are several car brand cameos including Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, Volvo Trucks, Tesla. And maybe others.

Other Michelin brands sneak in too, like a pin from the Michelin Guide restaurant reviews.

In the closing sequence, the camera zooms in to a closeup of the tire, which spins and then cuts into a line in the Michelin Man’s body as he runs forward, gives us a smile and a wave, and joins a lockup with the Michelin logo and the MFL tag line.

The spot closes with a voiceover. Michelin. (Pronounced the French way.) Motion for Life.

This spot looks good in any media placement and makes any media placement look good.

Watch it here ... https://vimeo.com/460490037