NDA / AUTO.
About the project
NDA is an international motor oil brand with technology that adapts to different engine operating conditions.
The brief
Develop an online video concept for a motor oil that adapts to different loads and operating conditions.
Escape
Insight
I spend all day adapting to other people’s demands, rules and expectations. Behind the wheel, I want to decide where and how I move — to feel that, at least here, circumstances don’t dictate my every step.
Idea
The brand lets you choose where and how to move, rather than adapt your plans to circumstances. Just as animals adapt to their habitats in the wild, the oil instantly adapts to changing engine conditions and the extreme loads you set.
Synopsis
A metropolis at the end of the working day. The protagonist leaves the office: tight tie, endless notifications, glass, concrete and traffic all around. He gets into his car and shuts the door. He accelerates, leaving the city behind.
He travels through different landscapes and climates. As the environment changes, the car transforms into animals perfectly adapted to it. Match cuts turn each animal back into the car. An Amur tiger is a key character in the story.
The road finally reaches the coast. He accelerates harder, and the car transforms into a sea eagle. It soars above the ocean and finally lands on a skyscraper’s spire. The camera tilts down to reveal the city and its traffic below.
Alternatively, the final animal transforms into a dragon, which becomes the logo.
Make the demo transition part of the metaphor
An Amur tiger’s eye. The camera rushes towards the pupil. Match cut to a circular part of a running engine. Demo. The camera flies back out of the engine through the tiger’s pupil — it runs on with renewed intensity.
Make complex technology easy to understand
- 00:00–00:01
The brand’s oil flows between numerous moving metal surfaces.
- 00:01–00:02
Different-coloured particles appear in the oil: different types of additives within the adaptation technology.
- 00:02–00:03
The metal surfaces suddenly move faster and heat up.
- 00:03–00:04
The red particles grow slightly larger and move more actively.
- 00:04–00:05
Rays appear between the active red particles, forming a red mesh within the oil flow.
- 00:05–00:06
The heated metal plates return to their original colour.
Smart Adaptation
Insight
I’m used to smart devices understanding what I need and adapting to me. I don’t want to go back to controlling and adjusting everything manually. I want the other technologies in my life to respond to change just as naturally, without demanding constant attention.
Idea
Show adaptability as the new normal. Like smartwatches and devices that read bodily and environmental signals, the technology instantly responds to changes in the engine and activates the protection needed at that moment — within the conditions you create.
Synopsis
Morning begins with a smart bed adjusting its temperature to the protagonist’s sleep, while smart lighting gradually changes to help him wake up. During exercise, his watch recognises activity and analyses his data. Technology reads the context and adapts to the person.
He gets into his car. The same principle operates inside the engine: adaptive motor oil responds to changing conditions and loads, activating the additives needed now — from cold starts and stop-start driving to high revs and extreme loads.
Alternative demo transition
The protagonist gets into the car. Close-up of an LED headlight: move towards one of its light elements. Its circular shape match-cuts to a component of a running engine.
The demo storyboard itself remains the same as in Escape.
Change Your Tactics
Insight
I can’t control other people’s actions or know how a situation will change. But I don’t want to feel at the mercy of circumstances. I need to change my response and tactics in time, keeping control over what is up to me.
Idea
Explain the oil’s behaviour through a boxing match. In boxing, control means changing tactics instantly as the situation changes. On the road, adaptation technology plays that role: as engine conditions change, so does the protection it needs.
Synopsis
A boxing match and the protagonist’s drive unfold in parallel, their movements mirroring each other. The boxer reacts instantly: defending, changing distance, accelerating and attacking. Each action is matched in the edit to a manoeuvre of the car.
Inside the engine, the oil responds to every change, activating the protection required at that moment. The match peaks as the car faces its greatest load. The boxer changes tactics and takes the initiative; the car confidently tackles the difficult stretch.
Make the demo transition part of the metaphor
Close-up: a bead of sweat rolls or flies off the boxer’s face. Match cut: it becomes a drop of oil, taking us inside the engine. After the demo, match back to the boxer’s movement or punch — or, preferably, directly to the car.
The demo storyboard itself remains the same as in Escape.
