Turtle Wax Made Cars With Huge Human CGI Heads

Well, somebody had to

It’s time to wash the car, so pass the giant Q-tip!

Turtle Wax envisions a universe where people’s vehicles look exactly like outsized versions of their owners’ heads. (They are what they drive. Heh.)

Let’s explore this odd continuum in strange, self-aware :30s from Chicago agency Running Toward Giants:

The approach works because it illustrates how some folks’ identities are synonymous with their rides. In such cases, pampering your car becomes self-care—and Turtle Wax, in a best-case scenario, makes every surface shine.

“This campaign is for the ones who care—who show up with intention and a microfiber cloth at the ready—and for anyone who just needs a little motivation to start,” says Turtle Wax CMO Daren Herbert. “Because no matter what you drive, it”s about taking pride in how you show up. There’s power in pulling up in something that should ultimately be a reflection of you.”

Next, the man-machines head to the road, wind blowing back their hair:

They’ve got the highway to themselves. No motorized hospital beds or speeding banana-shoes in sight.

“Definitely no AI at play here,” agency ECD Jeremy Bersano tells Muse. “As much as that route may be a hot topic right now, we trusted this work to human brains and artisans with decades of experience in VFX.”

During the shoot in Austin, Texas, jumbo foam heads served as stand-ins when the talent interacted with their lookalike autos. Also, “We filmed their ‘car-head’ performance from the shoulders up, so we could blend it into the vehicle body,” Bersano says.

“Post production employed a global team of VFX artisans. That’s where we were finally able to see what we’ve all been piecing together. It’s also often the scariest moment. It’s like, ‘Are we all on the same page here about how creepy we want it, or how much goo we want coming out of that smashed bug in his teeth?'”

Aidan Gibbons and Nate Robinson co-directed through production houses Not Just Any and Ntropic, respectively. Ads began breaking (braking?) today in the U.S., U.K. and India across Amazon Video, Hulu, Disney, ESPN and Spotify.

Later this month, the brand will invite U.S. fans to imagine themselves as cars—via drawings, paintings, mixed media, etc.—for a special sweepstakes. Ten winners will receive branded bobbleheads with their faces grafted onto chassis.

Would you like one of those? *Nods vigorously*