We don’t really have the space here for the list of star directors, actors and producers involved in the eight films involved across the lifespan (so far?) of this hugely influential series of branded short films. It was like nothing else before it but has had many followers, knowingly or not, along its walk of fame. One could argue all branded films today are in its debt.
Agency: Fallon, Minneapolis
Anyway, this is why Cannes Lions invented the Titanium award. Because Dan Wieden, the 2002 Cyber Jury chair, told organizers that they needed to if they were to reward the most innovative work in the industry – namely, The Hire – properly.
"When this campaign started, I was honestly knocked out. In an era before YouTube and smartphones, they stopped advertising on TV and invested all of the $2.5 million budget in creative. This is where it all began. The Internet became an entertainment space, and it was a moment when the methodology of branding changed dramatically. And I don’t think there has been any branded entertainment that has surpassed this series yet."
- Yasu Sasaki, Global Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu
Across the films there is a thread of narrative but each one is individual. All are linked with the mysterious driver figure, played by an increasingly familiar Clive Owen. He is the strong silent type and pretty nifty in his driving. He’s at the wheel of various BMWs, depending on which film it is. But the car is just there, doing its stuff, looking great but nobody talks about it. If you like it, good. Meanwhile, you’ll have your own favorite days in the driver’s life. Is it Powder Keg, from the first series by director Alejandro Inarritu? Or are you more for the bling of Tony Scott directing James Brown to sell his soul to the devil (Gary Oldman) and then turn that situation around with the help of Clive’s driving and his fast car? The auteur directors lined up to take the job: John Frankenheimer, Wong Kar-Wei, John Woo, Ang Lee …
The films are not that easy to get to see these days: apparently you can pay a bit for the DVD set – a collectors’ favorite. They are out there on social, of course. But where to start?
Well, Powder Keg is pretty damn good as is Beat The Devil (the one with James Brown). But probably best to start at the beginning with Frankenheimer’s Ambush. Definitely not with Guy Ritchie’s attempt, Star, featuring his then wife, Madonna.
