This is one of those cases which demonstrates how filmmakers chose destinations that can easily double up as some other place in the world. In this example, major vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) filmed their commercial for its Amarok pickup truck on location in India and Uruguay.
Even though the producers & the client were happy with the way the shoot was done in India, they had to shoot portions of the ad, showing the truck, in Uruguay. This is because the vehicles were supposed to be marketed in South America, and the various various bureaucratic delays and documentation needed to send a vehicle from South America to India made them move the shoot from India to Uruguay.
To keep the production costs under check, the commercial was filmed in places like Panvel, Pune and Saswad in India; these are a few hours drive from Mumbai (financial capital of India).
Another highlight of this ad film was that five different elephants were used for the shoot. The commercial tells the story of an Indian man’s relationship with his elephant – named Korama. To give an emotional touch to the commercial, the film ends with the elephant riding in the back of his Amarok pickup truck, when it gets too old to work.
There were production challenges during the shoot in India as the local police allowed the trucks carrying the elephant to travel only at night, because of which the crew lost the planned travel time during the day. Besides, because the truck had to travel at night, it had to travel at much slower speed considering the nature of the cargo, which further resulted in more production time lost.
The commercial ends with an eye-catching scrubland setting in Uruguay, as the main character takes his Amarok pickup truck on off-road terrain, showing Korama the elephant in the back of the truck.
Credits
Client: VW
Agency: Almapp BBDO
Copywriter: Rynaldo Gondim
Art Director: Andrew Nassar
Production Company: Rebolucion, Buenos Aires
Producer: Mariano Avellaneda
Production Service Company: Stratum Films, Mumbai
Producer: Avinash Shankar
Creative Directors: Dulcidio Caldeira, Luiz Sanches, Marcello Serpa
Director: Armando Bo
Director of Photography: Marcelo Camorino
