Nissan transports golfers to the edge with 'X-Treme' tournament

Client: Nissan

Agency: TBWA Hakuhodo

Market: Japan

Details: The event is billed as “18 holes of the most difficult golf ever played”, which judging by the video seems to be a fair statement. 300 amateur and professional golfers from all over Japan applied to take part; after screenings, three of the most hardened competitors were selected to battle it out over a total of 1,934 kilometres and 96 hours.

The Nissan X-Trail Hybrid served as the golf buggy, able to take the players to places a normal cart would never be able to go. Locations included sand dunes, sheer cliffs, dense forests, waterfalls, underground caves and ancient ruins. The full film is supported by a short trailer.

Campaign’s comment: The tournament looks undeniably entertaining, both for the players and to watch as a video. The car fits into the scenario well and we appreciate the absence of over-the-top branding. At one point, swinging his club in a dangerously dilapidated building one of the competitors recalls asking himself, “Why am I doing this?”. In the end though, the outlandish challenge sits very well with the Japanese appetite for endurance. It would be interesting to see how something like this could work elsewhere too.

CREDITS

Project: X-Treme Golf Cup
Creative agency: TBWA Hakuhodo
Client: Nissan
Chief creative officer: Miki Matsui
CD: Takahiro Hosoda
Art Director: Masaru Uemura
Copywriter: Nobuhiro Arai / Masato Goto
Director of photography: Noriaki Saitou
Editor (offline): Seizi Kohune
Editor (online): Shoichi Kawada
Production company: Aoi Pro.
Production company head producer: Keisuke Mizusako
Producer: Taro Iwato
Production manager: Yuma Tanaka
Agency producer: Tsutomu Hirakue
Group manager: Takahiro Takeoka
Account director: Satoshi Suzuki
Account supervisor: Masakazu Kobayashi
Account executive: Taisuke Kudo
Interactive planner: Kazuoki Uedo
Media agency: TBWA Hakuhodo