"The New Corvette Has Been Unveiled and It Is Ready to Take on Ferrari."
- Esquire
Launched in 1953, Corvette became an instant icon—the original American sports car. Over time, however, Corvette existed in the shadows of mid-engine European supercars. In the performance car world, sports cars and supercars occupy entirely different categories. The C8 Corvette couldn’t be launched as just a new model—it had to leap into a new class of cars.
The stakes were enormous. Traditionalists resisted the mid-engine rumors, and new audiences had to believe that an American car could challenge the best in the world. To accomplish this, we built the launch around the forgotten vision of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the father of Corvette, who dreamed of a mid-engine supercar. By searching film vaults and photo archives, we seeded rich content and hidden Easter Eggs to shift media and fan perceptions almost instantly.
We livestreamed the reveal globally, using augmented reality to highlight the mid-engine design. The broadcast outperformed Conan O’Brien in the same timeslot and reached #5 on Twitter’s U.S. trends. The program generated over 4,700 news stories and led to 37,000 pre-orders in the first three months, surpassing the first-year sales of Corvette’s previous-generation model.
Awards:
The stakes were enormous. Traditionalists resisted the mid-engine rumors, and new audiences had to believe that an American car could challenge the best in the world. To accomplish this, we built the launch around the forgotten vision of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the father of Corvette, who dreamed of a mid-engine supercar. By searching film vaults and photo archives, we seeded rich content and hidden Easter Eggs to shift media and fan perceptions almost instantly.
We livestreamed the reveal globally, using augmented reality to highlight the mid-engine design. The broadcast outperformed Conan O’Brien in the same timeslot and reached #5 on Twitter’s U.S. trends. The program generated over 4,700 news stories and led to 37,000 pre-orders in the first three months, surpassing the first-year sales of Corvette’s previous-generation model.
Awards:
- 06/2021: The D Show (Adcraft Detroit) – Finalist/Silver: Public Relations
- 08/2019: General Motors’ Torque Awards – Winner: Moonshot Award
Case Study Video
| Campaign Overview |
Teaser Videos
Part 1: "Let's Go"
This video confirmed the C8 Corvette would be mid-engine. To do so, we embedded flash frames featuring mid-engine prototypes dating back over 60 years.
This video confirmed the C8 Corvette would be mid-engine. To do so, we embedded flash frames featuring mid-engine prototypes dating back over 60 years.
Part 2: "Spoiler Alert"
This video helped viewers understand all the Easter Eggs in the initial teaser.
This video helped viewers understand all the Easter Eggs in the initial teaser.
Part 3: "Our Story Continues"
This video closed the reveal event, setting up the next chapters featuring the C8 Convertible and C8.R race car.
This video closed the reveal event, setting up the next chapters featuring the C8 Convertible and C8.R race car.
Part 4: "Dream to Reality"
Timed with the release of the Ford v Ferrari movie and Ford's announcement to pull out of LeMans, this video revealed the Corvette C8.R race car.
Timed with the release of the Ford v Ferrari movie and Ford's announcement to pull out of LeMans, this video revealed the Corvette C8.R race car.
Making the Mid-Engine Corvette
Influencer Program
Creative Credits:
- Creative Leadership: Iain Lanivich
- Group Creative Director: Tony Kause
- Creative Director: Rob Hendrickson
- Sr. Art Director: Jonathan Candelaria
- Sr. Copywriter: Tommy Simon
- Art Director: Kirby
- Copywriter: Erin Townsend
- Sr. Producers: Nate Kostegian, Tom Shea
- Producers: Cassie Kline, Bryan Fenster
- Jr. Editor: Zen Grey
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