The emotional power of music.

Lincoln’s brand promise is “The Power of Sanctuary,” and we were tasked with conveying that feeling of Sanctuary in Lincoln’s flagship, the Navigator. Additionally, this was a first foray at displaying Lincoln’s hands-free driving technology. While the demonstration of the feature plays only a small part in the spot, our intent was to convey the visceral aspects of the technology, which is so important for a luxury brand.

In order to bring to life Lincoln’s brand promise of “The Power of Sanctuary,” we wanted to create a visceral journey that would connect with a discerning luxury audience. Tapping into the wonder of a child on an evening roadtrip, we relied on music to augment the powerful visual story. We first chose a song familiar to our target of Millennial and Gen X parents: The Police’s ‘Walking on the Moon.’ Lyrically, the song conveys the magic and wonder of what it feels like to walk on the moon.

But we didn’t want this to be merely a retro nostalgia play for our car-buying target. We sought out contemporary electropop artist, Ruelle, to bring an ethereal and uplifting take to the song.

We also coordinated with Ruelle to have her single released on Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal on the day the spot went live. We designed the cover art for the single as well, acting as a subtle branding connection to the spot itself.