2019 Winners & Shortlists

LITTLE PONY

BrandCHEVROLET
Product/ServiceCHEVROLET
EntrantCOMMONWEALTH//McCANN Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryDurable Consumer Goods, including Cars
Idea Creation COMMONWEALTH//McCANN Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement CARAT Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production COMMONWEALTH//McCANN Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Additional Company CHEVROLET Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

The 16-second spot opens on a close-up of a logo, unmistakably that of the Ford Mustang, the Chevrolet Camaro’s biggest rival. A light humming can be heard. Panning back, reveals the logo to be a cake with 2 burning candles spelling out “54” (commemorating Mustang’s 54th birthday) and we see the familiar gentleman holding it: Taifi, Chevrolet’s brand ambassador, featured in all our ads. Zooming out further, we see Taifi is standing on an empty desert road, sporting shades and a cool expression. We notice the light humming in the background rapidly getting louder and higher in pitch. Suddenly, a red blur explodes past the screen and we cut to a close-up of the candles instantly blown out by the force. We reveal the Chevy Camaro, now seen zooming off into the distance. Supers fade in: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE PONY. We end on the Camaro & Chevy logos.

Cultural/Context information for the jury.

Brands in the region aren’t allowed to directly reference or show competitors in their advertising. So, our friendly jab at Mustang’s expense needed to be approached with some tact. Feeling a bit cheeky, we turned this handicap to our advantage – using our birthday cake gift to reference Ford’s Mustang (why give their car the free coverage?) and leaning into the rivalry by giving them a cute nickname: “little pony”. Those in the know would understand. And that’s all that mattered.

Credits

Name Company Role
Andrej Arsenijevic Commonwealth McCann//Dubai Executive Creative Director
Andrew Siebert Commonwealth McCann//Dubai Associate Creative Director
Jody Leon Commonwealth McCann//Dubai Digital Director
Conan Gregory Commonwealth McCann//Dubai Regional Account Director
Bhavana Gowda Carat MENA Associate Media Director
Matt Canzano Commonwealth McCann//Detroit Deputy, Global CCO’s
Greg Braun Commonwealth McCann//Detroit Deputy, Global CCO’s
Ash Farr Commonwealth McCann//Detroit EVP/Global Head of Strategy
Links
Video URL