As cars are unveiled and engines begin to rev for the start of the Formula 1 (F1) season in March, Sky Sports teamed up with in-house agency Sky Creative to develop a promotional campaign spearheaded by an exhilarating spot featuring a fantasy racing rollercoaster called ‘Enjoy The Ride’.
Leveraging the 2023 season’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix (which will join the series’ race calendar a week before the season finale in Abu Dhabi), the creative is influenced by Vegas links ranging from the Nevada desert rollercoaster to The Strip’s famous neon glow.
The creative aims to hype fans ahead of the new season by capturing the action and excitement of F1 and features the three team protagonists – Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull – in a night race around a neon-lit, looping rollercoaster track with guest appearance from Sky Sports F1 presenter Martin Brundle and cameos from team principles Toto Wolff and Christian Horner.
Dropping from 10 February, ‘Enjoy the Ride’, one of Sky’s biggest campaigns of the year, spans the UK, Ireland and Italy (with bespoke, country-specific edits) and runs on air during primetime Sky Sports coverage (including Premier League matches) and on commercial TV, as well as across social media, websites, newspapers and magazines. It is further supported by billboards and other out-of-home formats at landmark locations in major cities from the end of February ahead of the 5 March season start.
The twists and turns of @F1 are ????! Enjoy the ride, live on Sky Sports… Season starts 3rd March! ?? pic.twitter.com/6pzn2t1vpJ
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 10, 2023
The campaign was developed for Sky Sports by the media giant’s in-house agency Sky Creative with Framestore and Company 3 London with director William Bartlett.and, according to the in-house agency, the Vegas racing rollercoaster metaphor concept sparked excitement among the Sky Creative team.
“With Formula 1 being so full of ups, downs, twists and turns, what better visual metaphor than a rollercoaster?” explained Sky Creative’s Creative Director Rob Welch.
“As a huge F1 fan, I was so excited to showcase the upcoming season and create something instantly memorable in CG with our sensational crew of VFX artists led by Matthew Thomas,” added Director Bartlett. “This really couldn’t have happened in any other way and there were many technical challenges to overcome to make the race look as dramatic and authentic as it does. Working with the team at Sky Creative has been absolutely brilliant and we were so excited to be able to turn their rollercoaster idea into the best possible version of itself. Together we’ve created a really striking visual piece – and we can’t wait to see F1 fans’ reaction to it.”
“This concept really brought the thrill seeker out in all of us,” added Sky Director Of Premium’s Ben Case. “It’s been brilliant watching it all come together, and I think this campaign will really get viewers’ adrenaline pumping in anticipation of the new F1 season.”
The team at client Sky Sports included Content Producer Ben Case, Marketing Director Bekah Huggett, Marketing Managers Tom Oriel, Ezgi Mitchell, Kashmin Popat, Oliver Barnes and Harry Eke, plus Marketing Specialists Ed Audland and Charlie Samii Pour.
The creative agency was Sky Creative where the team included Executive Creative Directors Robin Garton and Ceri Sampson, Creative Directors Rob Welch and Chris Dorn, Creatives Talia Slater and Tim Brookes, Designers Andy Crocker, Lee Ford and Marcia Stewart with Retouchers James Paddison, Gregory Chapman and Claire D’Arcy, Business Director Alison Hackney, Account Directors Ben Trenchard and James Duncan, Head Of Strategy Georgia Bridgwood, Director Of Production Sophie Brooks, Head Of Production Paul Mortimore, Executive Producer Steve Ryan, plus Producers Al McGee, Mark Weston, Natalie Brunt and Christiana Miller-McCall.
Production, post production and VFX was handled by a Framestore team which included Director William Bartlett, Executive Producer Anna Kennedy, Line Producer David Hay, Director Of Photography Ben Magahy, 1st AD James Amos, Creative Director William Bartlett, VFX Supervisor Matthew Thomas, CG Supervisors Henrique Campanha and Ed Mykolaitis, CG Le
ad Johannes Sambs, Animation Lead Daniel Bielawski, Editor Carey Williams, Producers Ben Stell and Chloe Dunn and Coordinator Poppy Chadwick.
Additional post and VFX was by Company 3 London with Colourist Steffan Perry, while music and sound was run by Grand Central Recording Studios with Sound Designers Gary Turnbull and Munzie Thind, plus Producers Martin Critchley and
Molly Butcher.
Comment
This thrilling new F1 advertising campaign follows in the footsteps of previous new season promotions from the sports broadcaster such as 2019’s ‘Garage Pit Stop Stunt’.
The 2023 F1 season will consist of 23 races and the green light switches on with the Bahrain Grand Prix on 5 March and the chequered flag falling in Abu Dhabi on 26 November.
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