automotive

Hyundai Enlists Famed Photographer Annie Leibovitz

Hyundai is partnering with world-renowned portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz on “Journeys," a campaign that brings to life the stories of Hyundai owners and employees.

The effort focuses more on “emotional storytelling” and less on specific vehicles and aims to “humanize” the Hyundai brand, says Angela Zepeda, CMO, Hyundai Motor America.

This is not Leibovitz’s first foray into automotive advertising. The iconic photographer, perhaps best known for her Rolling Stone magazine covers, shot a campaign for Lincoln in 2016.

The photographer shares how she relates to the automotive category. “I grew up looking at the world through the frame made by the window of our family’s car,” Leibovitz says in a release. “My dad equated driving with being alive, with living. When I was a young photographer, in the seventies, being on the road was at the heart of my work. I used time in the car as a think tank. It was so freeing. There were so many incredible stories with this project.”

advertisement

advertisement

The campaign launches today on HyundaiJourneys.com. Hyundai’s agency of record, Innocean USA, led the execution of the campaign in collaboration with Annie Leibovitz Studio and YW3.

Among the eight Hyundai owners and 17 employees featured include Brent Pease, who co-founded the Kyle Pease Foundation with his brother Kyle to help the disabled find courage, resilience and normalcy through athletic achievement; Hyundai owner Mike Brown, an Illinois high school teacher who drove his Tucson to historical sites to bring history lessons to life; and two families impacted by Hyundai Hope On Wheels and its fight against pediatric cancer.

Eight long-form videos go deeper into the journeys of select owners and employees. More content will be revealed throughout the rest of the year, culminating in mid-November at an event in Los Angeles during the Auto Show.

Hyundai will also partner with Condé Nast to drive awareness for the omnichannel campaign online and across social media. Hyundai will also run out-of-home advertising, conduct paid digital and social activities, and feature the campaign in customer communications.

Next story loading loading..