TBWA\London On Parking a Nissan on a 50-Metre Chimney
In a world where urban driving can often feel mundane, Nissan is redefining the experience (and the automotive sector of advertising) with the launch of its new Qashqai with e-POWER. With the help of TBWA\London, the innovative campaign aims to “elevate your urban drive”, taking this mission to new heights – literally – by mounting a replica of the Qashqai on the side of East London’s famous event space, The Truman Brewery.
Three CGI films chronicle the vehicle’s journey from its roots in Sunderland, to its final resting place on the iconic former brewery’s chimney, and TBWA\London breaks out of the ‘fake out-of-home’ trend with a very real stunt.
By merging art and reality, the team at TBWA crafts a narrative that emphasises the Qashqai’s unique capabilities and its earned place within the urban landscape. Today, Heber Ramos, art director at the agency and copywriter John Kirkham share some insights into the creative process behind the campaign, the challenges during production, and the electrifying public response that followed the grand reveal of the Qashqai perched atop a chimney.
LBB> How did this campaign take off? What was the brief and the initial conversations around it?
John> The campaign took off with a strong vision from Nissan: ‘Elevate Your Urban Drive’. The goal was to show how the new Nissan Qashqai with e-POWER takes city driving to new heights, literally and figuratively.
Fake out-of-home is taking over and our goal was always to break away from this trend, to do something that really surprises people.
From the initial conversations, we knew the campaign needed to make a big impact, both visually and emotionally. The brief was bold – capturing the thrill of driving in the city while highlighting the cutting-edge features of the Qashqai.
This led us to the idea of physically elevating the car and creating an unforgettable urban moment that would stop people in their tracks.
LBB> How did the final idea relate to the product's messaging?
John> The tagline ‘Elevate Your Urban Drive’ was our North Star. We wanted to show how the Qashqai isn’t just another SUV but a vehicle that transforms how you experience the city. By literally lifting the car above iconic urban landscapes, we mirrored that elevated driving experience.
LBB> Why did you decide to lead with the three films, and why did you pick these particular locations?
Heber> The choice of locations – from Sunderland to Manchester to London – allowed us to connect the car with its roots while showcasing its ability to master any urban environment.
The three films were essential in building suspense and excitement ahead of the stunt. Sunderland was a natural starting point because the Qashqai has been built there since 2006. Manchester added a sense of journey and progression, while London provided the perfect grand finale. Each location brought its own personality and significance to the campaign.
LBB> In the last film, we see the Nissan parked on the side of the Truman Brewery chimney — why did you pick this location, and how did this idea come into fruition?
John> The Truman Brewery is iconic. It’s bold, it’s urban, and it’s unexpected – all things we wanted to associate with the Qashqai. It adds instant recognition and drama to the final shot, making it the ideal place to pull off something as bold as hoisting a car onto a chimney.
The idea of parking a car on the side of a chimney itself really came from wanting to make a statement. We didn’t just want to place the car anywhere; we wanted it to be somewhere where people would have to stop and take notice. It added an element of surprise, and ultimately, it emphasised the ‘elevate’ message perfectly.
An added (and unexpected!) bonus was that East London is full of skyscrapers, so when the car was up, we were inundated with social posts sharing the experience from unexpected angles.
LBB> Tell me a little more about the making of the films — we know they're fully CGI, but let us in on some details that went into the production process.
Heber> The CGI films were a labour of love, and the team at Coffee & TV really went above and beyond. One of the biggest challenges on this was a last-minute technical glitch that required the team to work around the clock for seven days straight to get everything ready on time.
The result, though, was incredible – the Qashqai being flown by drones from Sunderland to London was a visual that stuck with people.
Before adding all the CGI, we shot plates on location in Sunderland, Manchester and London. The team at Coffee & TV then used a CAD file of the car, attaching it to drones and adding all the physical movements you see. We wanted to get the car to flow through each scene making the eventual result feel almost organic.
The drones are carefully animated to feel like four separate entities, giving us even more room to play. Their eventual exit from the third film is a big moment, with sound design and music all ratcheting up to add to the drama.
We wanted sound design, music and video to feel very carefully thought-through, so the mix was a lengthy process. But we’re very happy with it. In fact, if you listen carefully at any one point in the three films, you can really hear the craft that’s gone into making the drama feel dynamic through SFX and music.
LBB> Tell me more about the 'reserved parking' vinyl stickers and why they were an important part of the campaign?
Heber> The ‘reserved parking’ vinyls were a great way to ground the campaign in everyday life while still hinting at the extraordinary. By placing them in key locations throughout the cities, we wanted people to feel like the Qashqai was claiming its space – almost as if it had the right to park wherever it wanted.
It was a playful way to invite people to imagine the car in their world, while keeping the elevated, larger-than-life feeling alive. Each activation also gave us the opportunity to suggest that Qashqai could be coming to your skyline any day now. It really helped us broaden out the whole campaign to the rest of the UK.
LBB> The campaign culminated in the epic real-life stunt imitating the final film. How difficult was this to execute? How did you mount the car there?
Heber> Of course, the stunt was a massive undertaking. We had to build a replica of the Qashqai, nearly twice its original size and weighing almost a tonne.
To get the car up there, we worked with City Lifting who used two cranes to lift the Qashqai to the top of the Truman Brewery chimney, almost 50 metres above the street.
It was an intense process with a lot of coordination, but seeing everything come together was incredible.
Brick Lane stopped to watch, with cars holding up traffic just to catch a glimpse. It was one of those moments where you realise you’re doing something a bit special.
LBB> Was there a lot of health and safety documentation that went into bringing the stunt to life? How did you work with the Truman Brewery to be able to execute this?
John> Absolutely – health and safety were top priorities, and there was a tonne of documentation involved. We had to ensure that every step of the process, from the crane setup to securing the car on the chimney, was airtight.
Truman’s team was incredibly supportive, working with us to make sure everything was safe without compromising the spectacle of the stunt. It was a collaborative effort, and in the end, it all came together flawlessly.
We were also particularly fond of the high-vis vests and hard hats that we wore during the day!
LBB> What was the public's reaction?
Heber> I think we realised it had worked when our friends and family were WhatsApping us to ask if we’d had a hand in the stunt. The public reaction was amazing too. The entire street stopped to watch as the car was lifted into place. It created a real buzz, not just on the ground but online too.
The stunt was covered by major national outlets like The Guardian, The Sun, and The Daily Mail. We were being sent articles from South America, Australia, Portugal, France, and social media was buzzing with people sharing their reactions and photos.
It was exactly the kind of impact we were hoping for – people were talking about Nissan in a whole new way.
LBB> Any final thoughts?
John> This campaign was about more than just a stunt – it was about pushing boundaries and doing something that no one had ever done before. When you manage to bring together a team across agency, client, production, and media, and create something of this scale, it’s a real achievement.
It’s a reminder that bold ideas, brave clients and brilliant partners can make big stuff happen.
