• by Tanya Gazdik , June 13, 2016

Pennzoil takes on the blistering heat of the Mexican desert in its second  installation of the “Joyride” series.

"Joyride Baja" features “real” driving from precision driver Rhys Millen (The Fast and the Furious), raising the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon’s engine temperatures above 200 degrees Fahrenheit to prove Pennzoil’s heat protection.

To best capture the speed and performance of the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Pennzoil assembled a coalition of production equipment and professionals, including a one-of-a-kind Ford Raptor Pursuit Systems vehicle, a retrofitted Polaris RZR buggy, a GoPro Freedom 360 Explorer Rig and an Octocopter drone to take the viewer along for a 4x4 joyride. 

The brand also enlisted a team of technologists to capture data in real time (i.e., speed, velocity, torque, motion) for VR simulators that will be on tour this summer at car shows, races and other auto events nationwide. A behind the scenes film captures the effort that went into creating the video. 

“It’s critical for a motor oil to perform at extreme temperatures,” said Fernando Morales, campaign lead, Pennzoil, in a release. “We want people to understand that if the motor oil can perform under harsh conditions like this, it’s going to perform even better when you’re at home.” 

A third Joyride video is planned for later this year. The first “Joyride” video was released in March and has more than 1.8 million views on YouTube. 

“It’s hard to show what motor oil can do for your vehicle,” said Dustin Tamilio, group creative director, J. Walter Thompson Atlanta, in a release.“You can’t see it, you can’t touch it, you can’t taste it – but you can definitely feel it.”