| Title | Front Row |
| Agency | David&Goliath |
| Campaign | The World’s First Storytelling Machine |
| Advertiser | Kia Motors |
| Brand | Kia |
| Date of First Broadcast/Publication | 2020 / 12 |
| Business Sector | Automotive |
| Story | The world is full of stories just waiting to happen. As we approach the New Year, new beginnings bring with it the opportunity to discover fresh, unique stories, on the road or off. You just need the right tool to find them. In the latest creative campaign for Kia Motors by David&Goliath, Kia introduces the all-new 2021 Sorento, a rugged, mid-size SUV that’s much more than just an SUV, it’s the world’s first storytelling machine. A powerful, highly sophisticated tool that helps people discover the stories that are out there, in an era where stories are the ultimate currency. “To say it’s been quite a year is an understatement. With 2020 in our rear view, the New Year is like a blank page waiting for stories to be written. And the completely redesigned Sorento offers the kind of utility and power that can take you to those faraway places to uncover the majesty and unexpected beauty around us and fill the pages with stories yet to be imagined,” said David Angelo, founder and creative chairman of David&Golaith. “It’s a New Year and now, more than ever, we need new, positive, hopeful stories to experience and share, and the possibilities are endless.” The creative campaign is part of Kia’s multi-faceted New Year’s Celebration which began in early December when the all-new Sorento road tripped west to east to deliver the “2021” numerals to Time Square, capturing inspirational stories along the way with National Geographic. The hero spot of the campaign titled “The World’s First Storytelling Machine,” takes the Sorento on a story-generating odyssey: a man in a suit walking along a dusty road carrying a birdcage. A crash-landed astronaut in the middle of nowhere. Someone playing pinball in a dark alley. Or a disco ball sparkling in a forest. Evocative, sensory beats that conjure up a storytelling universe ready to be explored. It ends with the voice-over line: “We didn’t just build another SUV, we built the World’s First Storytelling Machine.” In the second spot titled “Front Row,” a woman takes her new Turbo-Hybrid Sorento (a first for Kia) up to a dramatic mountain outlook where she finds a set of theater seats that have been mysteriously set up to offer an unparalleled view of the canyon below, as well as a stellar display in the night sky. Both “The World’s First Storytelling Machine” and “Front Row” will air during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021 on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. EST. In addition to the broadcast campaign, as well as social and digital elements, the Sorento will be featured on digital billboards on the north façade of One Times Square, the building that launched the annual New Year’s Eve Ball Drop tradition in 1907. Sorento’s digital billboards will be on display through January. |
| Media Type | Web Film |
| Length | |
| Special Effects / VFX | Method |
| Founder | David Angelo |
| Creative Chairman | David Angelo |
| President | Yumi Prentice |
| Executive Creative Director | Mark Koelfgen |
| Copywriter | Mark Koelfgen |
| Group Creative Director | Frauke Tiemann |
| Art Director | Frauke Tiemann |
| Group Creative Director | John O'Hea |
| Art Director | John O'Hea |
| Group Creative Director | Steve Clarke |
| Copywriter | Steve Clarke |
| Associate Creative Director | Chris Mead |
| Copywriter | Chris Mead |
| Associate Creative Director | Kris Wong |
| Art Director | Kris Wong |
| Associate Creative Director | Ben Sweitzer |
| Art Director | Ben Sweitzer |
| Managing Director | Paul Albanese |
| Broadcast Production | Paul Albanese |
| Senior Producer | Rob Sondik |
| Managing Director, Integrated Production | Peter Bassett |
| Technology | Peter Bassett |
| Executive Digital Producer | Justine Kleeman |
| Digital Producer | Genevieve Shah |
| Associate Digital Producer | Jessica Sosa |
| Sr. Print Producer | Elisa Atwood |
| Sr. Art Producer | Andrea Rosenfeld |
| Associate Director of Project Management | Genie Lara |
| Senior Project Manager | Mike Antonellis |
| Managing Director | Lisa Tanner |
| Account Director | Aleks Rzeznik |
| Management Supervisor | Annelise Lorenzo |
| Account Executive | Quin Chadwick |
| Account Director | Sarah Masket |
| Digital | Sarah Masket |
| Account Executive | Quinn Rufener |
| Digital | Quinn Rufener |
| Assistant Account Executive | Britney Bencomo |
| Digital | Britney Bencomo |
| Chief Strategy Officer | Laura Forman |
| Associate Comms Director | Natalie Gomez |
| Jr. Comms Planner | Hailey Kim |
| Sr. Strategist | Jasmine Spraglin |
| Jr. Strategist | Beka Tesfaye |
| Director | Natasha Royzina |
| Business Affairs | Natasha Royzina |
| Freelance Senior Business Affairs Manager | Camara Price |
| Product Information Manager | Mark McNaul |
| Digital Design | Meagan Steinkamp |
| Digital Design | Corey Siegel |
| Developer | Mariano Echegoyen |
| Developer | Junior Developer |
| Production Company | Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ) |
| Production Company | Oricom Inc. |
| Director | Henry Hobson |
| President | David Zander |
| Executive Producer | David Zander |
| Executive Producer | Kate Leahy |
| Line Producer | Laurie Boccaccio |
| Director of Photography (DOP) | Alwin Kuchler |
| 1st AD | Liz Tan |
| Production Designer | Chris Gorak |
| Costume Designer | Daniel Orlandi |
| Editing Company | Spinach LA |
| Editor | Adam Bright |
| Assistant Editor | HJ Chong |
| Executive Producer | Jonathan Carpio |
| Production Company Producer | Patricia Gushikuma |
| Executive Producer | Michelle Machado |
| Senior Producer | Pip Malone |
| VFX Supervisor | Ben Walsh |
| Execuitve Creative Director | Ben Walsh |
| Coordinator | Laura Duncan |
| CG Supervisor | Pouyan Navid |
| Lead Flame Artist | Ian Holland |
| Colorization | Company 3 NY |
| Music Company / Composer | Barking Owl |
| Sound Design Company | Barking Owl |
| Audio Post Studio | Eleven |
| Production Company | Spinach LA |
| DP | Juan-Pablo Digenio |
| PA | Noah Smith |