Pro race car phenom teams with director Jake Scott in badass Kia campaign

Stung with styling cues from the award-winning Stinger, the all-new 2019 Kia Forte is now arriving in showrooms and Kia Motors America is eschewing conventional car advertising and is pulling out all the stops to introduce its most sophisticated compact car ever.

And what does pulling out all stops exactly mean?

It means Kia partnering with Red Bull to build a custom, not-for-sale drift car Forte.

It also means getting behind the wheel with professional driver and 24-year-old racing phenom, Collete Davis, in a high-flying new campaign from David&Goliath that shows off the Forte’s sporty design, advanced technology and Stinger-inspired driving dynamics in a way the compact class has never seen before.

Finally, it also means having multi-award-winning RSA director Jake Scott direct three, 30-second spots. The first spot – “Forte vs. Forte,” breaking yesterday – features Davis literally launching the 2019 Kia Forte off a ramp and jumping it over the drift car Forte – a feat that Davis performed for real, with no wires, nets, or other stunt drivers in sight – just to demonstrate the Forte’s impressive 8-inch touch screen.

The spot ends when Davis nails the landing as the announcer says matter-of-factly, “It Doesn’t Have to Make Sense.” Let’s take a look below:

Dang, pretty badass indeed.

“Kia continues to shock the industry and break the rules and the all-new 2019 Forte is no exception,” said Saad Chehab, vice president of marketing communications, Kia Motors America. “This adrenaline-filled campaign featuring a baby Stinger in a Red Bull suit screams ‘look at me’ even though some may question the idea of a Forte in racing livery, we are delivering an entirely new take on what many people see as simply a daily commuter car. And then again, some are still surprised to learn that Kia has been J.D. Power’s highest ranked non-luxury brand in initial quality for the past four years, but to us and our loyal consumers all of it makes complete sense.”

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Kia and Red Bull collaborated on the Forte drift car and are now developing a three-part YouTube series hosted by Davis and featuring the Red Bull Driftbrothers, Joe and Elias Hountondji. The series documents the vehicle build from start to finish, including on-track testing. “Kia is fueled by youth and working with Red Bull is a mirror reflection of our youthful attitude and together we are going to showcase the new Forte in never-before-seen ways that are sure to capture attention,” continued Chehab.

There’s also a long-form video – “One-Take Wonder” – shot from Davis’ perspective as she speeds down the track and takes flight as she jumps an all-new Forte. Seven cameras captured the action from every angle – both inside and out – and the entire sequence was shot in just one take. Let’s have a “looksie”:

“As a professional race car driver, I love to drive all types of models and this spot, with the juxtaposition between daily driving and performance was just too fun to pass up,” said Davis. “When you have a passion for driving, even the most mundane errands, the longest commutes or the biggest traffic jams become easier and the all-new 2019 Forte is the vehicle that makes all the difference in those situations.”

Knowing Scott’s background as a director, he was perfect to shoot these. They are jaw-dropping amazing to watch and actually makes me do a double-take when it comes to Kia.

Two additional spots, “Chicken” and “Smoke Machine,” will air in the coming weeks. In addition to these spots, a suite of digital and social content will be released to round out the campaign, from both Kia and Red Bull.

Kia truly did pull out all of the stops.

 
Credits
Client – KIA USA

Mix: Barking Owl
   Sound Engineer: AJ Murillo
   Creative Director: Kelly Bayett
   Executive Producer: Ashley Benton

 
Contact Colin Costello at colin@reelchicago.com or follow him on Twitter @colincostello10.