In the insurance company’s latest campaign, NRMA Sleeper depicts a road trip, like any other, except everyone in the car is asleep, even the driver. Yet they arrive unscathed.

According to production company FINCH, which is behind the work, the spot dreams up a world where cars drive themselves to remind us that until they do, we need to drive safely.

It takes place in some timeless, almost forgotten part of Australia where there is an otherworldly feeling of absolute safety.

Directed by Juan Cabral, the film is cinematic, painterly, and human, and was shot around the full moon for ambient light, and just managed to evade the first of the bushfires.

Of the production, Juan Cabral happily remembers how “it truly felt like a small crew shooting a short film, everyone waiting for the moon to do it’s thing”.

“Nick and his team were really championing the nuances of long trips,” Cabral said, “embracing the mystery of the night and sleep. The cast was lovely. Including the kangaroo that came to say hi for a little cameo.”

FINCH and MJZ produced the work for Juan Cabral, whose work is described as inventive, humanistic, character-driven and often ventures into magical realism.

He is the writer/director of Cadbury ‘Gorilla’, director of Ikea ‘Beds’ and the creator of the iconic Sony Bravia Trilogy: ‘Balls’, ‘Paint’ and ‘Playdoh’.

Loren Bradley, EP at FINCH said: “It was a pleasure to work with Juan on this project, and the collaborative relationship between client, agency and production executed a beautifully-crafted piece of work.”

Nick Worthington, chief creative officer at Colenso BBDO said: “It’s not often advertisers take the time to tell a proper story these days, but as we all know it’s stories that people love.

“This cautionary tale, while told brilliantly by Juan Cabral, really owes everything to the trust of Brent Smart and the whole team at NRMA. In return, we trust it achieves what was asked—to simply help Aussie families stay safe.”

Credits for the campaign are as follows:

IAG

Chief marketing officer: Brent Smart

Brand marketing director: Sally Kiernan

Creative and innovation lead: Elizabeth Stokes

Creative and innovation specialist: Danielle Picker

Colenso BBDO

Creative chairman: Nick Worthington

Creative director: Dave Brady

Group business director: Lee Lowndes

Business director: Debbie Currie

Head of TV production: Natasha Gill

Head of brand & communications strategy: Lisa Divett

Finch

Producer: Cath Anderson

Executive producer: Loren Bradley

Executive producer: Rob Galluzzo

MJZ

Director: Juan Cabral

DOP: Eric Gautier

President/executive producer: David Zander

Executive producer: Emma Wilcookson

Editorial

Editor: Emiliano Fardaus

Post producer: Julieta Fernandez Castagnino

VFX: Blockhead VFX

Grade: Pete Ritchie

Colour: MPC LA

Colourist: Ricky Gausis

Colour producer: Sasha Pace

Music: Soundtree Music

Composer: Pete Raeburn

Music supervisor: Jay James

Sound design/mix: Wave Studios UK

Sound designer: Parv Thind

Producer: Beth Tomblin

 Featured image source: YouTube/NRMA Insurance