Lincoln Motor Company taps Annie Leibovitz for campaign

Lincoln Motor Company has teamed with iconic photographer Annie Leibovitz to create a photographic series that will feature as advertising in high-end magazines.

The cinematic-style photo series, called ‘That’s Continental’, aims to introduce the new model Lincoln Continental and will appear in print magazines and across social media.

Shot in and around New York in urban and rural settings, the campaign aims to bring to life the emotion and feeling of a road trip.

Leibovitz, an acclaimed photographer known for her high-profile portraits of celebrities, literary icons and politicians, used non-professional models, including a film director, the director’s dog, a musician and an actor for the shoot.

The campaign, which was shot in and around New York City in both urban and rural settings, aims to bring to life the emotion and feeling of a road trip.

Leibovitz said she called on memories of childhood trips and the romance of the open road as inspiration for the series, which recreates a favourite road trip she took with her father when she was younger.

John Emmert, group marketing manager of The Lincoln Motor Company, said, “Annie creates rich, engaging narratives through her photographs. And in this story, the Continental is the key character that enables a memorable journey.”

“She said that’s how she first developed her photographic eye – by looking out the back window at the horizontal framing of the landscapes of America. So in the end, we have 10 different shots that tell a story with a nice backdrop of rural and urban – and all decidedly unconventional in terms of car photography.”

Lincoln has produced a quiet, emotive and more mature approach to the launch of the new model.

Kumar Galhotra, president of The Lincoln Motor Company, said, “We partnered with the world’s pre-eminent portrait photographer to launch the new Lincoln flagship. Annie Leibovitz is a photographer of substance. The rich, warm emotions her photos evoke mirror the feelings we want our clients to experience on all their journeys in the new Lincoln Continental.

The campaign launches the Lincoln Continental, a luxury vehicle, “expressly designed for discerning clients seeking a world-class driving experience”.

The photo series is an unconventional approach to a new car launch. Automotive brands usually resort to big budget campaigns accompanied by a big ad with lots of noise and fireworks. Instead, Lincoln has produced a quiet, emotive and more mature approach to the launch of the new model, which instantly positions this car and the brand differently.

This series seeks to engage people with the emotion of hitting the road rather than the usual song-and-dance of a big car ad and a big spending launch.

This is a very unexpected way to launch a car and it reflects the class and sophistication of the brand. Lincoln Motor Company has done a lot of branded entertainment work seeking to position the car as innovative and creative, this campaign extends further on that while also delivering a sense of class and sophistication.

Turning to print is a surprising move, but it is a nod to the nostalgia that is dripping through this work, and again ensures it appeals to the target audience.

This is a creative and stylish work and the fact it is for an automotive brand also really stands this work apart. This is a winner for Lincoln.