As one of the world’s most prestigious and reliable automobile brands, Porsche is determined to also become one of the most sustainable. To achieve this, their 2030 strategy focuses on “shaping the future of the sports car” by “doing things differently than all the others.”

In 2019, Porsche revealed their Taycan model: their first series production electric car. Having understood “the great challenges of transformation as an opportunity,” the German automaker delivered big and rolled out more than 20,000 Taycan’s in its debut sale year of 2020 (7.4% of the total Porsche product volume).

“We saw an opportunity to deliver a bigger, more inspirational story-driven idea to align with the sustainable, future-thinking sentiment of Porsche’s electric vehicle initiatives.”

‍

And that’s where Prolex Media came in. As Winnipeg’s luxury car marketing aficionados, Porsche Centre Winnipeg and GoAuto tasked Prolex Media to creatively envision Winnipeg’s contribution to the #TaycanAcrossCanada campaign.

The theme? “It’s Heart: Electric. It’s Soul: Porsche.”

An every-day commute with a big-picture message.

The brief called for everyday life in Winnipeg from the perspective of an urban commuter, featuring vehicle details and a focus on performance. This could have easily been fulfilled by a standard montage-style car video, but for “the brand for those who follow their dreams,” we took a page from Porsche’s book and did things differently.

“We saw an opportunity to deliver a bigger, more inspirational story-driven idea to align with the sustainable, future-thinking sentiment of Porsche’s electric vehicle initiatives,” says Jordan Johnsen, Prolex Media’s content coordinator who developed the video concept. “We set out to go beyond features and showcase how advancements in technology provide the next generation of drivers access to better electric vehicles and a better future.”

GoAuto enthusiastically gave us the green light on the storyboard concept so, wary of our very tight timeline, we carefully calculated shoot logistics while sticking to the stringent specs of the brief. We scouted our mother-and-child acting duo and mapped out ideal shoot locations within range of the Taycan’s charge.

‍

‍Car commercial camerawork takes grit and gusto.

‍

Following our storyboard, we shot the commercial in chronological order to lead up to the epic penultimate sunset windfarm shot. Strict guidelines for the video made it difficult to get urban footage as other vehicles weren’t allowed to appear in the shots.

“Porsche’s guidelines did feel restricting at times—but not on creativity. It was more so the logistics of shooting,” says Johnsen. “It made getting certain shots more challenging but when it came to our idea nothing really changed!”

Our precisely orchestrated rolling shots were also challenging. They required an additional vehicle to follow the Taycan at a similar speed, and two operators to man the camera and the remote stabilizer—one of whom was professionally strapped into the back of the moving vehicle.

“The hard work paid off as we finally saw the enormous wind turbines on the horizon for our climactic shots,” says Johnsen. “Despite questionable weather throughout the day, the sky broke up perfectly as we got the drone in the air and allowed for a stunning view.”

“The Prolex team took a tiny idea and absolutely ran with it to create some outstanding work.”

‍

The exhilarating beauty of these shots motivated the crew to finish strong to fulfill our inspired vision for Porsche. After two days of shooting, we hit the editing room to set the perfect pacing, source music to set the mood, and scout the perfect voiceover actor who could warmly express the sentiment in the video. Putting the visual impact of the story first, we custom tailored the voiceover script to match the pacing of the video edit.

‍

Reach into the future to deliver beyond expectations.

‍

In the video, a woman and her son embark on a little road trip in the Taycan. Departing from their garage, they cruise through the city before hitting the open road. The end shows the child playing with a vintage Porsche miniature and frames a wind farm in the background. This symbolizes the relationship between the past and the future of Porsche and emphasizes that this sustainable evolution is to benefit the next generation.

While Porsche Centre Winnipeg and Go Auto may have initially expected a Winnipeg-focused teaser-style video to announce arrival of the Taycan in the city, instead they got an emotionally charged theatrical commercial that aspires for a greener future made possible by Porsche’s electric vehicles.

“The Prolex team took a tiny idea and absolutely ran with it to create some outstanding work,” says Katie Cruickshank, marketing manager at Go Auto. “The quality of the work is sensational, and we look forward to more great projects together.”

Porsche and Go Auto praised the team for doing a wonderful job in capturing Porsche’s message and that the video “encapsulates the feeling of the Prairies” while staying on brand. In particular, they praised our “clean script, beautiful shots and cool transitions.”

We look forward to partnering with Porsche and Go Auto to help envision a better, more sustainable world for future generations.

‍

‍