The new ad from the Dutch bike brand, which is created by VanMoof’s in-house team, marks quite a shift in style from its more recent advertising, which used cinematic filmmaking to highlight biking’s environmental credentials.

The brand, which is over 12 years old, is making the most of the rise of e-bikes with provocative, eye-catching marketing, while demonstrating that bikes can change people’s lives, especially those living in cities.

“We don’t try to be controversial in order to strike up controversy,” the brand’s CMO Andrew Smith told CR in a recent interview. “I think what we’re trying to do is bring visibility to issues and topics that affect everybody that lives in cities…. Cities get harder and harder to live in the more dense they become, and we’ve seen the ramifications of car-first mentality when it comes to the development of cities and roads and sidewalks.”

VanMoof’s bikes don’t come cheap, however, which brings us to the point of this new ad, which artfully shows off the anti-theft tech and insurance coverage the brand offers via a series of comedic interviews with would-be bike thieves who talk candidly about their troubled attempts to steal a VanMoof.

“Real deterrents are needed to keep your VanMoof safe,” says VanMoof creative director Colin Cornwell. “Bringing these features to life in a vivid way was the film’s goal. We couldn’t be happier with the way it’s turned out. We love the characters, and we love the stop-motion approach. It makes for a truly unique and playful way to talk about a tricky subject.”

Credits:
Production Company: Rowdy
Director: Tobias Fouracre
Creative Director: Colin Cornwell, VanMoof