Because the 2021 Super Bowl promises to be an incredible global show, we already know major companies – automakers being chief among them – are investing millions in a bid to catch everyone’s attention. But here’s an alternative advertisement that features a car but isn’t sponsored in any way by the manufacturer and has a story but doesn’t air during the commercial brakes of Super Bowl LV.
That’s an alternative ad in more than one way, as it also promotes sustainable mobility, green energy, and even acts as a contemporary remake of a cult classic. It was created by Los Angeles-based production company Valkyr and was specifically targeted against the high-budget Super Bowl ads from big conglomerates.
With that said, don’t think this was a cheap endeavor. On the contrary, “Mr. E” is more cinematic than a lot of commercials running on networks through contracts worth millions of dollars, even though Valkyr specifically mentioned all filming was done with a skeleton crew. As such, the 25 artists were assisted by just ten people from the production team as they traveled to no fewer than eleven locations around Los Angeles.
“Despite all of the challenges of this past year, I think many have used the time to refocus their efforts on what really matters. For our company, we wanted to prove what could be done on spec., with a creative that captured the ethos of a brand, embodied by a character - delivered as a slightly bolder alternative,” explains Jeremy Heslup, Valkyr Productions’ Founder and Director.
As far as the story is concerned, the mysterious main character of Mr. E seems to be the embodiment of electricity, with the ad also counting as a remake of a famous Epuron commercial from 2007 (that one was titled “Mr. W” and is also embedded below).
The other star of the shoot is a 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo, which eventually teams up with Mr. E at the behest of a character that’s credited as both a sponsor and an engineer. Naturally, just about anyone would take the keys of such an EV, especially since the German sports sedan brings to the table up to 500 kW (680 PS/671 hp) and is capable of sprinting to 62 mph (100 kph) in just 3.2 seconds.
With that said, don’t think this was a cheap endeavor. On the contrary, “Mr. E” is more cinematic than a lot of commercials running on networks through contracts worth millions of dollars, even though Valkyr specifically mentioned all filming was done with a skeleton crew. As such, the 25 artists were assisted by just ten people from the production team as they traveled to no fewer than eleven locations around Los Angeles.
“Despite all of the challenges of this past year, I think many have used the time to refocus their efforts on what really matters. For our company, we wanted to prove what could be done on spec., with a creative that captured the ethos of a brand, embodied by a character - delivered as a slightly bolder alternative,” explains Jeremy Heslup, Valkyr Productions’ Founder and Director.
As far as the story is concerned, the mysterious main character of Mr. E seems to be the embodiment of electricity, with the ad also counting as a remake of a famous Epuron commercial from 2007 (that one was titled “Mr. W” and is also embedded below).
The other star of the shoot is a 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo, which eventually teams up with Mr. E at the behest of a character that’s credited as both a sponsor and an engineer. Naturally, just about anyone would take the keys of such an EV, especially since the German sports sedan brings to the table up to 500 kW (680 PS/671 hp) and is capable of sprinting to 62 mph (100 kph) in just 3.2 seconds.