Cannes Lions

Street Level

IRIS, London / FORMULA E / 2019

Film
Demo Film
Supporting Images

Overview

Entries

Credits

Overview

Background

Historically Formula E has come under heavy criticism from motorsport purist, the need for an electric championship has been questioned in the media. They’ve often been called ‘Milk Floats’, ‘Hairdryers’, even ‘Toy Cars’!

In reality Formula E races are intense, full-on battles that play out on the city streets. All the cars have the same power which means that the best driver wins, races can have over 60+ overtakes, it’s not a procession, it’s a thrilling full contact sport all delivered in just 45 mins. Once people hear about it, they really want to watch it, and once they watch it, they love it.

Now in its 5th Season, Formula E is all grown up with a brand-new 2nd Generation car that looks like it’s straight from the set of a Batman film. These incredible machines are specifically engineered to take on the city streets like nothing else before them.

Idea

Formula E has come under heavy criticism from motorsport purist, the need for an electric championship has been questioned. They’ve been called ‘Milk Floats’, ‘Hairdryers’, even ‘Toy Cars’!

Now in its 5th Season Formula E has grown up thanks to a new 2nd Generation car, an iconic machine specifically engineered to attack the city streets.

We took what the haters saw as a weakness and flipped it into a strength. We created a street fight of EPIC proportions, captured at a miniature scale, taking Formula E closer to the streets than ever before. Two mini RC versions of the Gen 2 car battling it out in a phenomenal, intense city street chase – all filmed in camera in a cinematic way.

Strategy

Formula E is the most intense racing series on the planet – full on battles that play out on the city streets. All cars have the same power meaning the best driver wins. Races can have over 60+ overtakes, it’s a thrilling full-contact sport. Once people hear about it, they really want to watch it, and once they watch it, they love it.

‘How We Race’ is our distinctive and own-able ‘front door’ and the reason our audience will get excited about our sport. It’s our opportunity to convert existing motorsport fans into ELECTRIC motorsport fans.

We needed to create social content that drives fame around Formula E by showcasing our intense racing style and our brand-new iconic 2nd Generation Car.

Execution

In order to stay as true to the sport as possible, we spent 2.5 months shrinking the full-size CAD data of the Gen 2 car into a 1/10th mini remote-control version.

We took the techniques and gear used to film modern day car commercials and Hollywood car chases and shrunk them down to a miniature 1/10th scale too.

We made a mini Russian Arm using an RC tracking car and custom mounts to hold small cameras. We created mini low loaders and trolleys to capture locked close-ups of the car - just like full-scale car commercials.

For agile filming control with feedback, we repurposed a drone by removing the propellers and mounting the cam to a stabilised RC vehicle.

Outcome

Street Level was launched on 4th March 2018, across the following four social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. The film targets motorsport fans who may be cynical about Formula E and sports enthusiasts who demand sport that delivers close, competitive and unpredictable action – something Formula E promises to deliver, in this epic new Gen 2 machine.

Reaching a wide audience in a playful, innovative film that pulls on the familiarity of Hollywood car chases, the nostalgia of RC racing and the charm of scale play. We let the world know that when it comes to Formula E we mean business, that playtime is over.

- 12.5 million views during the first 5 weeks

- 338k engagements during the first 5 weeks

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2021, FORMULA E

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