We’ve seen the formula before. A commercial for the Nissan Z brings out generations of older Z-cars to support the new one. Not a single word is uttered in the whole ad and the narrative couldn’t be simpler. A man goes out for a late-night drive to clear his head. But the visuals in this new spot give off a Blade Runner feel that’s kind of cool.
The commercial looks to have been filmed in downtown Los Angeles with plenty of glass towers and concrete to fill in the environment. There are some serious cyberpunk vibes to establish the feel. The Z driver can’t sleep and goes out for a witching hour spin in his 400-horsepower Ikazuchi Yellow RZ34 that, thankfully, still has a stick shift.
As he’s driving through the city older Z-cars begin to creep into his vision, and it’s implied that these cars are not really there. Are they spirits? Is he hallucinating? The S30, Z32, and Z33 that appear — all yellow – look like actual cars that were used in the filming. The digital trickery used isn’t in rendering the cars, just making them pop into view and vanish with some eye-catching effects.
A previous Z video promoting the latest gen used essentially the same yellow cars. But the computer renderings were really obvious, making it look more like a video game. This version is much improved. We also like this one better than the terrible Super Bowl ad. How would you rate it?
I saw that yellow Z that appears in all the US commercials at an SCCA autocross put on by my local region last month. Nissan folks from Detroit brought it down to have their people run it, and a blue Z, and a fleet of their lesser sedan cars in the event.
More info on the lesser sedans please! What kind?
A couple Maximas and a couple of Altimas, their support vehicle was a JDM RHD Pathfinder with all the logos taped over.
The Z cars looked good on the course, and a couple of the drivers were pretty proficient. The sedans looked totally over taxed, like trying to use an elephant as a quarter horse.
Interesting mix. The JDM Pathfinder is an unexpected choice.
Wow, that is a great commercial.
Hopefully when my youngest child finishes college in 2025 Nissan will finally release the car in some sort of volume so I can get one. Wouldn’t it be cool to buy a base model stick shift just to get into the game? Give me that burgundy color, please.
I thought that bridge at the end of the commercial was “not in use” anymore.
But the rest of the ad was very cool.