Matthew McConaughey takes his time in his first Lincoln ad through Hudson Rouge.
There are almost more pauses than words of dialogue in the 60-second spot, as the Oscar-winning actor and new brand endorser sits nearly motionless in his MKC on a country road, transfixed by a giant bull who won't let him pass.
There's plenty of Rust Cohle here, but this is also just pure McConaughey—quietly audacious. That could also describe the approach of the whole spot, in fact, which barely shows the vehicle in action. (Indeed, it's vanquished in the end by a creature clearly more powerful than itself.)
Two other spots rolled out Thursday—a :60 that's more conventional, with McConaughey driving around and philosophizing on whether you can or can't "go back," and a meta :30 in which he says straight out that he drove Lincolns long before he was paid to do so.
The spots were directed by feature filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, who was last seen crafting this 90-second Grey Goose ad.
CREDITS
Client: Lincoln Motor Company
Agency: Hudson Rouge, New York
EVP, Global CCO: Jon Pearce
Assoc. Creative Director/AD: Adam Flanagan
Copywriter: Griffin Creech
Art Director: John Shirley
SVP, Head of Integrated Production: Sherri Levy
Associate Producer: Joyce Lee
Business Affairs: Ron Kirkman
EVP, Managing Director: Scott Kavanagh
Management Supervisor: Tamara Taylor
Production Company: Skunk
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Managing Partner/EP: Matt Factor
Executive Producer: Shelly Townsend
Director of Photography: Benoit Debie
Editing House: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Mat Newman
Assistant Editor: Chris Mitchell
Executive Producer: Eve Kornblum
Producer: Jenny Greenfield
Visual Effects Company: The Mill (NY)
Producer: Alex Fitzgerald
Shoot Supervisor: Kathy Siegal
2D Lead Artist: Iwan Zwarts
2D Artists: Yoon-Sun Bae, Rob Meade, Danny Morris
Burtis Scott, Krissy Nordella, Anne Trotman
Telecine Company: Co3
Colorist: Tom Poole
Mix Company: Sound Lounge
Audio Engineer: Tom Jucarone
Music: Cliff Martinez (Bull, I Just Liked It, Rosewood, Looky There)
Music: Ring The Alarm (Intro/Austin)