Ford’s Lincoln Motor Company has announced a series of original short films to indirectly market its vehicles. Entitled Lincoln Reimagine Project, the undertaking involves reimagining the classic Hollywood themes of screwball comedy, 1970s road heist, and thriller-noir.
In partnership of the Vanity Fair and Film Independent, the mission of The Lincoln Reimagine Project — itself part of Lincoln’s “Hello, Again” campaign — is to “collaborate with, sponsor and support culturally progressive individuals and their vision for making the old new again through a celebration of all things reinvented.” Lincoln Reimagine features custom content written and directed by emerging filmmakers Dana Turken, Jacob Hatley and Nick Citton and David Ariniello, all of whom are Film Independent Fellows — alumni of the nonprofit independent film organization’s highly selective Artist Development Programs, while the “Hello, Again” effort is an extension of Lincoln’s push to reintroduce itself through all-new vehicles, such as the new MKZ.
According to Lincoln, the four filmmakers received advice and mentorship from award-winning film writer, director and producer Rodrigo García, with the series being unveiled at a special screening event with The Lincoln Motor Company, Vanity Fair and Film Independent in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 10. It has also premiered on a Lincoln-developed hello-again.com website, on Wednesday, Sepember. 11.
“Bringing together Lincoln and Film Independent for this extraordinary program has been incredibly exciting for us,” says Edward Menicheschi, Vanity Fair vice president and publisher. “Film and storytelling are core to the magazine’s DNA, and the opportunity to help Lincoln bring its ‘Hello, Again’ campaign to life through the creation of these original films has really taken the power of an innovative brand partnership to the next level.”
“Film Independent is thrilled to partner with The Lincoln Motor Company and Vanity Fair in this initiative,” says Jennifer Kushner, Film Independent director of artist development. “We are excited to unveil these three films created by our fellows. Their work is exemplary of the distinctive and innovative cinematic voices Film Independent cultivates and celebrates through its programs.”
By sponsoring fresh and relevant projects and ideas in the areas of art, design and thought leadership, Lincoln’s goal is to push projects past the tipping point of change to help innovators, visionary leaders and brilliant artists launch their endeavors.
“Lincoln continues to embrace its original spirit of forward-thinking design and innovation,” says Andrew Frick, group marketing manager, Lincoln. “The creativity and individuality of these filmmakers inspire them to transform iconic film genres from the past into new and vibrant visions of the future – an accomplishment that mirrors what Lincoln intends to do with its vehicles over the next four years.”
The resulting films from the Reimagine Project are available at hello-again.com and are being discussed on social media channels with the #HelloAgain hashtag.
The Motrolix Take
It’s no secret that Lincoln is struggling to gain traction in today’s automotive luxury marketplace, a circumstance that’s widely believed to be the result of an uncompetitive product portfolio and subpart brand image. That said, the Lincoln Reimagine shorts we’ve seen thus far are of a very high quality and feature the MKZ sedan prominently and in good taste. Whether the effort, however, will help sell more Lincolns and improve the brand’s image remains to be seen… but we can’t fault the brand for trying something new in the marketing department. In fact, the Lincoln Reimagine campaign reminds us every so slightly of Chevrolet’s Discover the Craft Series promoting the new 2014 Impala.
No Comments yet