This is not a small activation in a mall or a pop up store. We took an area of 92,000,000 square kilometers that had been closed to the world for almost 60 years and opened it up to support the economy of those who just a couple of years ago lived off war. We get into a territory that few dare to explored and we used former guerrilla fighters as guides on those roads that no one knew. It took months of preparation that were recorded in a film that was shown in 14 countries on the Discovery Network.

Chevrolet SUV’s in Colombia are not the first choice for consumers. Brands like Toyota and Ford have been leading the SUV market by far for decades. More than just another brand campaign, we needed to create an action that would generate awareness about our 4x4s and serve as a demo of their capabilities in the most difficult terrain.

We wanted to create a campaign that was not only to be seen, but also to be shared. One that would reach the hearts of all Colombians and allow us to increase our market share in the SUV market.

In Colombia, a territory the size of Portugal belonged to the guerrillas. For almost 60 years you could not go without running the risk of being kidnapped or getting into a combat zone. Although peace was signed almost 5 years ago, Colombians are still afraid to go. So we used Chevrolet SUV’s to show they can handle any terrain, even those filled with dirt roads and bombed-out bridges. And to find out how to get to the different tourist destinations, we used former guerrillas, who today are seeking a new way of life, as tour guides. We went with a filmmaker and a war reporter to document everything in a 23-minute film that was shown on the Discovery Network to prove the world is possible to return to that area of the country, leaving tourist businesses operated by those people who today need a chance at life.

In Colombia, SUV's have a very high cost so they are not massive. In the 80's and 90's, Toyota managed to consolidate, among other things, because they were used by drug traffickers in the worst terrains. In fact, they call it the "Narco Toyota". Since then, Toyota has always been the first brand in 4x4s followed by far by brands like Chevrolet.

Owners of lands in the country side prefer cars that have been tested for years in a country whose road infrastructure is far from the first world. These rural landowners don't believe in TV spots or mall demos.

We needed a demonstration that would also reach the media organically. If Toyota was tested by the drug lords in their farms hidden in the middle of the jungle, we were going to get into a jungle that no one, except the guerrillas, had traveled in the last 6 decades.

Since the peace treaty, the guerrillas have been incorporated into civilian life. Reinsertion into society has been a difficult process, where communities such as the ones we work with have created cooperatives to create a common capital.

Some NGOs have sponsored business proposals from ex-guerrillas. We worked with the tourism proposals of 5 communities that have been trained for 18 months in different projects..

With them we traced routes that contemplated the most attractive destinations in that former guerrilla territory. A route was drawn up that would also help to showcase the capabilities of Chevrolet's 4x4s. With a war journalist and a filmmaker, we documented the entire journey with the help of Discovery Network.

The film was released in 14 countries and was launched on April 11 (at the closing date for entries to Cannes it had only two broadcasts). It’s also available on Discovery's website and on Chevrolet's website.

These are the results achieved 2 weeks after the first broadcast, at the close of Cannes deadline:

TV + Digital Impacts: 23,749,711.

Top 2 in the Discovery Network ratings in the first broadcast and Top 1 in the second broadcast.

4,511,335 people reached by free press.

In just two weeks we have been called by different universities and organizations to show the Film and even the FICCI, International Film Festival of Cartagena de Indias, asked us for a one-hour session where we talked about the documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELtfyY3JluM&t=1768s