What is a "global definition of beauty"? This is a question that designers of the Lincoln Continental have asked since 1938.

the assignment

As a modern brand with a storied past, Lincoln asked us to introduce the new Lincoln Continental Concept in a way that subtly pays respect to the automobile's rich legacy while focusing squarely on the now. The story had to do a lot of heavy lifting to appeal to diverse audiences, reflect the elegant tone of the brand, and relate to the rich history of the Continental without addressing it directly.

The Strategy

We wanted to announce the launch of the Continental Concept to the "creative elite" design-inspired audiences, Lincoln fans, travel aficionados, luxury markets, competitors' fans, and automotive fans, all with one piece of content that could be published with topic-specific headlines and imagery. We also wanted to convey that the Continental is Lincoln's answer to the question: what is a global definition of beauty?

We responded with this animated short featuring a narrative that pays tribute to the nameplate’s longstanding influences from the world of first class travel, and the evolution in thinking that stems from such exploration. The notion captured in this animation is that our idea of beauty evolves when we are exposed to new places and cultures, and that's what the Continental has always been designed to reflect.

the creative

The animation style supports this narrative, created entirely from the elegant tri-color palette of the classic Continental and the new concept, with stunning transitions that meld one into the next, and graceful hand-drawn gestures that support the brand’s focus on a more human approach to motorcar design.

In addition to the 90 second film, we pulled a number of still frames and animated GIFs that would appeal most to our sub-targets.

We created a robust social campaign to bring audiences into the long form content on Lincoln Now, which in turn led to the product page on the enterprise site. 

the media targeting

The resulting film was distributed to five key audiences including auto enthusiasts, travel aficionados, luxury shoppers, and design enthusiasts, and earned positive engagement rates 440% beyond the average for Lincoln content (5%), and 1700% over the benchmark for branded content in the auto industry category (1.5%), thereby extending the Continental story to new audiences through paid media and exponentially through viral sharing.

ANIMATION Credits

Agency: Hudson Rouge
    Producer: Joyce Lee/Kaia Hemming/Shelley Giera
    Creative Director: Ashley Davidson
    Writer: Ashley Davidson
Animation Company: Block & Tackle
    Executive Producer: Michael Neithardt
    Art Director: Gordon Waltho
    Animation: Ted Kotsaftis, Adam Gault, David Hobizal, Hayato Yamane
    Additional Animation: Janice Chun, Nicholas Martinez
Sound Design Company: Fall on Your Sword
    Producer: Lucy Alper
VO: Eric Balfour