Scoundrel director Ariel Martin directs new blockbuster commercial for KIA’s first ever Ute ~ celebrates heart and soul of Aussie culture
Scoundrel director Ariel Martin has helmed the latest commercial for KIA to celebrate the launch of its first ever Ute.
Set against the backdrop of the nation’s beloved pub culture and iconic sporting heritage, this campaign is a tribute to the Australian way of life, blending the passion for sports with the practicality and adventure embodied by the new Kia Ute.
With the Australian ethos at its core, the campaign ventures beyond traditional car advertisements, weaving a narrative that resonates deeply with the Aussie spirit. A tale of sporting heroes, unbridled rivalry, and pub culture. And most importantly, Kia’s first Ute.
Beautifully crafted by Martin, the spot bounces through a series of comedic and heartfelt moments tailored to resonate with Australians’ shared sporting knowledge, the campaign highlights the new Kia Ute’s role not just as a vehicle, but as a companion in the everyday lives of Australians.
Says Martin: “It’s not often I get to work on a campaign that draws on my bottomless pit of obscure Australian sporting knowledge. It was a fun set, with all of our sporting legends fully onboard to create the world of this mythical pub.”
Client: Kia
General Manager – Marketing: Dean Norbiato
Brand Manager: Brendan McGrath
Social Media and Content Coordinator: Denisha Philipthas
Digital Marketing Manager: Tim Manning
Agency: Innocean
Production: Scoundrel
Director: Ariel Martin
Executive Producer: Adrian Shapiro
Producer: Giordi Caputo
DOP: Simon Ozolins
Art Director: Miles Pitt
Post House: ARC Edit
Editor: Jo Scott
Grade: Matt Fezz
Music and Sound by MassiveMusic
Creative Director: Lance Gurisik
Composer: Adrian Sergovich
Sound Designer: Simon Kane
Executive Producer: Katrina Aquilia
54 Comments
Well directed- sports talent can be tough. Pitch perfect
Surely Steve Bradbury was going to wedge his foot in the door as it closed for final drinks.
Fantastic!
excellent
Brilliant!!
Love to know the budget.
CB is a weird place. This is brilliant in so many ways and… 4 comments?.Maybe it’s because there’s nothing to bitch or complain about? Anyway, consider this 100 comments of adoring praise – so bloody good.
This is outstanding!!! Well played all round…
Nice one
Nicely done!
Saw it during MAFS. Stood out like the proverbial dog’s b****.
Brand and message clear as mud.
Top, top stuff.
This is really good. If Monkeys or Special or Thinkerbell made it, their keyboard warriors would have been all over it.
Good ad. Nelson’s a good pub too. Well done all. Cleverly cut and directed to be forgiving to performances.
Kia Occy FTW.
Great to see Tugga get involved. Could watch this a thousand times.
What a brilliant piece of advertising. Love the direction, writing and all the little touches… Kudos to everyone involved!
What kind of closed minded world are these ute drivers living in that a car brand name would be front page news
Iconic ad
Yeps. Great!
No notes, this is great.
Fantastic. And a nice name teaser right at the end to boot.
This is bloody good. Well done. Big Ute ad. Having done a few myself I know how high the bar is. Now you better have something worthwhile for the reveal.
Ad I wish I had made. Brilliant.
Great craft and execution !
Love it
and VW THIS is how you do auto
Bloody good spot for a new comer to take on Australia’s best selling car. Nice work to everyone involved. Put me down for a Tasman.
Brilliant!
Can’t wait to see the car (and learn the name).
Is this the biggest teaser ever?
Looks like a previous MLA lamb ad – Same Pub , same actor same lighting.. We all love an aussie sporting Icon though. One of Ariels better ones for sure. Im sure Scoundrel would’ve hated handing over the talent money…..
Let’s be honest, there’s not much creativity to this. A whole bunch of loose scripting to try and remind us who each celeb is to a product. It’s a bit like the Special Uber strategy but at least Special make sure there’s some fun dialogue or clever celeb gag.
Disagree. There’s lots of fun dialogue and cleverness in this spot.
Brilliant ad
This is sensational, and great advertising. It’s a good litmus test, and the two lone negative comments are lucky they’re anonymous.
Str fckr, that’s one of the worst ever comments on CB. Well done, because that’s a very competitive field.
Best ad to come out of Australia in many a year. Well done to all.
A poor Lamb ad imitation stuffed with a bunch of c list sports people who most viewers wouldn’t recognise unless they stated their name. Happy now?
Steve Waugh was Aust test cricket captain. That’s about as important as Aussie sport gets. And And Australian reps in major codes.
I recognised the majority & I’m a 60 yrs old woman.
Did not know the AFL, soccer or MMA.
Great ad, great talent, great teaser, great pub.
“c list sports people” lol. Reckon there’s a good chance that their target buyer could name every single one of them.
This is sensational. Well done to anyone who had a hand in it, it’s work to be proud of.
It’s so embarrassing when the agency can’t keep themselves from commenting
You disgruntled blokes – you are the minority. This is primo lovely world-class work. Cheer up fellas.
And you’re the same person who’s commented 15 times already
I watched this and thought “Am I supposed to know these people?” And then I remembered I’m not the target market. To echo @Brilliant stuff’s point, the target audience would know every one of them. Sounds like it hit the mark.
I loved the feel of the spot, and I think Ariel does funny ads so well. Also just a seriously decent guy who knows how to get the most out of talent. Which would have made a huge difference here. And that line is brilliant. Kia’s getting a ute. So good. Says it straight. Makes it feel Australian. Teases. Does everything.
Love this. Nicely done.
In what world is ‘kia’s getting a Ute’ good?
What is happening.
Well done Ariel..
I remember the days when you got extra points for not showing the product in an ad. Great TV. Can’t wait to see the next installment.
90 seconds of awkward performances and a grade so dark you can barely make out the talent… Doesn’t feel like good work to me.
Don’t stress, I’m sure there’s a lovely vitamins brief you can tend to that has all the light and bright details you need for those withering eyes.
Couldn’t understand half of what they were talking about, or see them properly. Is it meant to be Australian folkore or something? But hey, thought it was another round of TAB campaign but it was Kia.
Kinda hilarious watching a Korean car company give a tall order for the most Australian cliche thing they could cook up to help their image
Well done.
You ad guys take yourselves too seriously, think everyhthing is generic soap and name recognition. I have a Mitsu, all the gear, but getting a bit old. I am exactly the target market, who would rather buy a 2nd hand Hilux, Navarra, Mitsu etc, than something that ‘should’ be slotted above the Chinese brands, but will struggle to. If it was a game of ‘recognise the ex stars, it failed miserably. Get out of your EV’s and smell the diesel.
The target audience for the upcoming, but not yet on sale, Kia ute are not your regular Hilux and Ranger driving tradies and off roaders. This car is for families who want something more rugged than a SUV. Utes are the biggest selling car category in Australia, which is why the choice of a blokey pub filled with unrecognisable sports stars is a puzzling one.
Hats off. Good performances from sports people, lots of funny moments. And a great name teaser. Well played
I remember Ariel when he was merely a good director.
Nice spot but it’s missing a good line to tie it all together.
There is one aspect of your ad that is not believable to anyone who drinks draught beer. Ie. The ‘barmaid’ did not the beer for two reasons: 1. The head of the beer is creamy not frothy. This means it was poured a little while ago. 2. She doesn’t fill the glass – the head doesn’t even reach the top of the glass – it should froth above it. Real drinkers would hand it back and say, “Fill it up mate”.