Tesla Rides User-Generated Content to Advertising Greatness

Tesla has this free marketing thing down, doesn’t it?

Back in August, the automaker received the kind of earned media most can only dream of when the P85D, an all-wheel drive version of the Model S, received the first-ever perfect score from Consumer Reports (though it didn’t come without controversy).

Never mind that most people can’t afford the car. As an introduction to the auto-buying public, this kind of gushing review from an influential publisher associates the brand with an exceptionally high standard of quality that its cheaper models will no doubt benefit from.

And it didn’t cost them a thing.

Now Tesla can add a pretty stunning advertisement to its list of freebie marketing achievements.

Parachute and Sam O’Hare created this frankly awesome CGI video that pretty much depicts Tesla as the second coming of the auto industry — a message that would be much harder to digest if it came straight from Tesla or a commissioned agency.

Tesla – Fireflies from Sam O’Hare on Vimeo.

It’s not the first time Tesla’s benefited from some free creative. Remember this homebrew from Everdream Pictures last year?

All in all, it’s been a great month for car ads, with Honda’s “Paper” making waves as well.

Here’s hoping this storytelling trend of less talking and more imagination continues.