Donkey on a Chopper Will Kickstart Your Heart

Caffeinated tude from Canada's Kicking Horse Coffee

Kicking Horse Coffee’s new campaign features a rebellious donkey zipping around on a motorcycle as hair-metal rocks the countryside.

There’s not much more to the :45 below directed by The Perlorian Brothers.

But really, what else could it need?

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It must’ve taken that beast at least two weeks to learn how to ride. Now he’s a stud. And I thought the Viator goat was a badass.

“Kicking Horse Coffee has been proudly disruptive since its inception, and we hope this campaign truly reflects our commitment to quality and authenticity,” says Christina Yu, CCO at Lifelong Crush, which developed the campaign. “Our goal is to remind people that coffee does’t have to be dull and boring, nor does its advertising.”

Mötley Crüe’s “Kickstart My Heart” provides the soundtrack. So on the nose.

The main footage was captured with a stunt rider, “then came the CGI animation magic” to overlay the animal image, Yu tells Muse. “We wanted to shoot all the scenes in camera so that the spot would feel real. Well, as real as you can get with a donkey riding a scrambler.”

Turns out the mule was a tad obstinate with the crew (surprise!) and needed a support chicken on set.

“We used one as a muse,” Yu recalls. “No donkeys or chickens were harmed in the making of this ad.”

As a muse, eh? Let’s take a look…

The work breaks this week across TV and digital platforms in the U.S. and Canada.

There”s OOH percolating, too: