| Title | Never Idle |
| Agency | Big Communications |
| Campaign | Never Idle |
| Advertiser | The Valvoline Company |
| Brand | Valvoline |
| Date of First Broadcast/Publication | 2017 / 3 |
| Business Sector | Tires, Accessories, Oil, Petrol, Gasoline |
| Story | Do philosophy and motor oil mix? Valvoline does its darnedest to find out in ads that fuse gritty, documentary-style car, truck and motorcycle footage with voice recordings of British philosopher Alan Watts and American author, motivational speaker and media personality Les Brown. Watts’ metaphysical musings on the nature of time and space fuel the first spot, “Run,” in which he asserts, “There is rhythm and there is motion. You can’t catch hold of it. You can’t describe it. But you can imagine. And so, the clock is just like a ruler, and is as abstract as a ruler. And time then obviously is a way of measuring motion.” Watts, you may recall, did time in commercials last year, voicing an appeal for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, a lobbying group. His weighty words seemed more in sync with that message, which dealt with issues of life and death, than they do for Valvoline, which lubricates internal combustion engines. Still, his voiceover provides a poetic counterpoint to the moody cinematography. It piques our interest, though still seems a bit out of place. Brown fares better in the next ad, “Jet,” his rousing spirit and rising inflection more attuned to the racetrack/gearhead ethos as he asks, “What are you afraid of? What are you scared of? … You can have fears. but don’t surrender. Don’t let your fears have you. |
| Media Type | Television |
| Length | |
| Production Company | Variable |
| Chief Creative Officer | Ford Wiles |
| Director, Agency | Brian Curtin |
| Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) | Mark Ervin |
| Associate Creative Director | Matt Harrison |
| Producer | Dan Atchison |
| Account Supervisor | Nathan Stuckey |
| Account Supervisor | Mary Jane Cleage |
| VP, Consumer Marketing | Jamal Muashsher |
| Director | Salomon Ligthelm |
| Producer | ALEX FRIEDMAN |
| Director of Photography (DOP) | Katelin Arizmendi |
| Editor | Brian Curtin |
| Colorist | Mikey Rossiter |
| Sound Designer | gavin little |