The cinematic ad features an epic chase where the forest’s biggest creatures pursue the irresistible comfort of the exciting new compact SUV, the All-New Citroën C3 Aircross.
Ever wonder what it would look like if a horde of bears decided they’d prefer to hibernate in the comfort of your car’s backseat rather than their cold, dark den?
Lucky for you, that’s exactly the premise of Citroën campaign, The Hunt for Hibernation. To bring the bears to life to unparalleled technical expertise; to do it, agency BETC worked with production company Zauberberg and German post-production house b-Epic. "We wanted the bears to be really lovable. So that you almost feel bad for them that they haven’t caught the car - even if them catching the car would have almost certainly meant the untimely demise of our Citroen drivers," explains Creative Director Nick Bakshi.
This cinematic campaign, worthy of a Hollywood production, owes much to its directing duo, Dorian & Daniel, the multi-award-winning directors who bagged two Gold Lions and one Silver Lion at Cannes for their recent work on Samsung's "The Spider and the Window." The duo also directed five USP videos for the campaign with a bold cartoony spirit, featuring our famous bears doing whatever it takes to enjoy the comfort of the new Citroën C3 Aircross. This 360-degree campaign will also include print and radio.
On social media, thanks to the work of BETC Fullsix, the campaign goes far beyond a mere adaptation by launching the career of the very first influencer bear “Thierry the Grizzly”. Having managed to get hold of a Citroën C3 Aircross, he uses Instagram and TikTok to introduce his fellow bears to all the details of the car—so much more comfortable than a cave for hibernation.
The campaign perfectly aligns with Citroën's recent works, like The Alien for the new ë-C4, The Revolution for the new ë-C3, The Ice Ballet for the Professional Range - blending an epic and cinematic world with an extra-large helping of humor - and harkens back to the brands creative heyday when it was making iconic works under the watchful eye of advertising legend Jacques Séguéla.
“This is the 4th film of a new saga of cinematic, epic comedy ads. They are a hint to the iconic films à grand spectacle of our brands past.” says Federico Goyret, Global Marketing and Communications SVP at Citroen “Using nostalgic original soundtracks, the most advanced film making techniques and special effects and by working with the best talents in the industry, we hope to have created a piece of branded entertainment to highlight the fabulous renewal of our lineup and amuse our prospects”.
So now, settle into your Advanced Comfort seat in the New Citroën C3 Aircross, turn up the volume to Chicago’s hit ‘I Don’t Want to Live Without Your Love’, and brace yourself for the wildest chase of the year!
The campaign is built around a 360° strategy: TV, cinema, radio, press, digital and social media. It has launched on February 3rd in Belgium and will launch on February 20th in France, and then in Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
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CREDITS
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Agency : BETC
Agency management : Bertille Toledano, Mehdi Benali, Benjamin Merllié, Marie-Gabrielle El Assaad, William Rosélie, Alice Farrando, Alice Bossard
President & CCO : Stéphane Xiberras
Creative director : Nick Bakshi
Copywriter : Sébastien Duhaud
Art director : Charles Dessaux
Junior art director : Anthony Tavares
Creative resource coordinator : Kemi Zinsou
TV producer : David Green
Traction creative producer : Magalie Dauleu
Agency post-producer : Florence Delforge, Sarah Dufief
Strategic planning : Etienne Averseng, Chloé Wren
Social media team : Oscar Peteil, Grégoire Krimianis, Quentin Lanoizelet, Rodolphe Marcotte, Marcus Thouant, Laura Russ, David Puiroux, Jean-Baptiste Soumier, Alexia Jalouneix, Laure-Astrid Ntsiba, Ditte Benjaminsen, Thomas Recouderc-Meunier, Donatien Guepratte, Vincent Lataste, Andréa Schrieke, Lucas de Ligt
Production company : Zauberberg
VFX supervisor : Marta Carbonell Amela
Directors : Dorian & Daniel
Executive producers : Juliane Ellrich
Producer : Ulrich Kreis
Production coordinator : Britta Liesen
Director of photography : Matias Boucard
Photographer : Ole Westermann
1st assistant director : Steven Willams
Executive service production : NAFTA Films
Post-production house : b-Epic Studio
Post producer : Timo Seegräber, Wiebke Warndorf
Editor : Johannes Hubrich
Colorist : Florian Metzner
Music creative director : Adam Ghoubali
Music supervisor : Seril Farran
Sound production : GUM
Music : I Don’t Want to Live Without Your Love
Music composer : Hammond, Albert Louis & Warren, Diane Eve
Music edition : Albert Hammond Music & Realsongs
First airing date : 03/02/2025
Talent rights : Lee Andre Sellers, Stella Stoker, Kitty Jane Allison, Leslie Davidoff, Charlies S’Jacob, Aleksander Kaitsa, Marija Siskova
