Kia Motors reclaims the summer road trip

Remember how we’d just get in our cars and drive? It didn’t even matter where to. Windows down, the summer breeze blowing through our hair. A longing that’s so familiar you can almost feel it.

As the summer season begins and we safely move toward a new normal, let’s take a trip back to a time when the Great American Road Trip was very much the fabric of our lives.

In the spirit of Kia Motors America’s brand ethos, Give It Everything, inspiring what’s possible, the brand has launched a new campaign, Let’s Road Trip, which harkens back to forgotten times as it celebrates this uniquely American tradition. Knitting together curated vintage 8mm footage from the golden age of the road trip, with present-day imagery from Kia’s award-winning model lineup, it connects the past with the present, or, more importantly, provides us with a glimpse into our future.

Kia – Let’s Road Trip

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Agency David & Goliath/Los Angeles
Production Company Existing Footage

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Credits

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Agency David & Goliath/Los Angeles
Production Company Existing Footage
Executive Producer Karen Jean
Executive Creative Director Mark Koelfgen
Executive Producer Christopher Coleman
Senior Copywriter Chris Davis
Art Director Lisa Donato
Creative Director/ Copywriter Chris Pouy

Managing Director Paul Albanese
Group Creative Director/Art Director John O'Hea
Group Creative Director/Copywriter Steve Clarke
Group Creative Director Frauke Tiemann
Associate Creative Director Bernice Chao
Associate Creative Director/Copywriter Sarah Mosseller
Editor Adam Bright
Editorial Company Spinach (In-House at David & Goliath)

Executive Producer Jonathan Carpio
Post Producer Patricia Gushikuma
Color Company a52
Colorist Daniel de Vue
Executive Producer Thatcher Peterson
Producer Jenny Bright
VFX Supervisor Urs Furrer
Managing Director Jennifer Sofio Hall

Executive Producer Kim Christensen
Executive Producer Patrick Nugent
VFX Producer Andrew Rosenberger
Associate Creative Director Sara Becker

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Created by David&Goliath, the Let’s Road Trip hero spot is a :60 that underscores our shared human need for freedom, something that’s been curtailed for so very long by global events. The film begins with a reminder of simpler times: “Remember how we’d just get in our cars and drive?” A series of retro, nostalgic shots follows, featuring, among others, a little boy ready to depart with his suitcase, a father and son on a fishing trip, and a waving rancher passing by with his herd.

The voice-over goes on to assert a hands-down win for the car in a time when getting on a plane seems a far-off prospect: “It might be a while before we’ll see America from 35,000 feet. But the view from 6 feet is even better.” Then, the voice-over reminds us of some of the pleasures of stopping along the way for, among other things, boiled peanuts (a southern delicacy). Before ending with an epic aerial shot of a lone highway cutting through the Texan plains, and the call-to-action: “C’mon America, let’s pick up where we left off. Let’s Road Trip.”