Hyundai's Genesis Is So Ready for Its Tight, Sexy Closeups

Innocean USA’s artful effort for Hyundai’s Genesis takes viewers on a quasi-Kubrickian trip that puts shimmering headlamps, leather seats, gleaming grills and other features into gorgeously tight focus.

Lush, luxe details flow across the screen like the vast expanses, pristine valleys and gently sloping hills of an exotic alien world.

Yes, camera, caress those cars! Auto porn slides into overdrive.

The GV80, GV60 and Electrified GV70 SUVs appear in ads from Iconoclast directors Gal Muggia and Vania Heymann. Suitably spacey, cosmic-club grooves by Yebba, Duckwrth and Onuka weave around the intense imagery.

“We needed to leverage a brand truth that would help us stand apart from the many well-known nameplates in the category. We found our truth in ‘details,” says Innocean CCO Jason Sperling. “The level of detail, craftsmanship, and finish that go into every aspect of Genesis vehicles is astounding, and what matters most to an audience of luxury disruptors. My hope is that the brand breaks through a cluttered sea of category sameness and creates more desire than ever for these amazing vehicles.”

This marks Sperling’s first work for the automaker since he moved from Meta to Innocean. It’s certainly a notable, cinematic debut, designed to transport lovers of luxe vehicles to a dimension of tactile delight. A tad too abstract and fawning for the masses, perhaps. But kudos for changing lanes, as it were, to explore some fresh territory.

“We wanted to shoot this footage in a way that was noticeable different from typical luxury car advertising,” Innocean creative director Paul Fung tells Muse. “To help give the brand breakthrough with a freshness and attitude. So we focused on the details using macro shots, but choreographed them in a way that felt visually captivating and dynamic.”

“By mounting a camera on the motion control rig and choreographing the movements, we built a balletic sequence that showcases the vehicle details,” he says.

To enhance the abstract vibe—the simple, surreal setting is notable—Hyundai shot at a studio with XR (extended reality) capabilities. 

“This is essentially a stage with an immersive curved LED background powered by game engine mechanics,” Fung says. By placing the vehicles in front of an 8K-wide display-resolution wall, “We were able to capture real backgrounds in camera rather than green screen, allowing for efficiencies in postproduction and adding extra dimension and texture to the final shots.”