Efforts to sell friend’s used car becomes commercial spoof heard around the world

February 17, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

If you have been sitting on your hands just waiting for the right 2010 Nissan Altima with a paltry 87,000 km under its belt to drive up and sweep you off your feet, you might have missed your chance thanks to an Aurora filmmaker and his producing partner.

Unable to offload his Nissan for nearly a year for just under $12,500, Newmarket’s Rob Comeau turned to Aurora’s Chris Hau, both principals in the fledgling Know Hau productions, to make the car a bit sexier in an “epic” send-up of the typical car commercial.

Launched online last Tuesday, the resulting video touting the car’s “six speed radio, four rubber tires for maximum traction” along with its gas “input and output” capabilities, it soon went viral and, at press time, was rapidly inching close to half a million views.

Not to mention over 100 offers for Rob’s ride – even at the asking price.

“It has been super-exciting,” says Mr. Hau of the video’s reception, having been picked up by Global News, the Toronto Star, The Chive, Buzzfeed, and even winding up on the front page of Mashable. “It is crazy. The comments from the people are so genuine; they genuinely want Rob’s car to sell!”

What started as a casual conversation over a morning gym workout the previous Tuesday, they grabbed their cameras the next day and set out to shoot the video at various locations around York Region,– including King Township and the Holland Marsh.

“We wanted to [poke fun] at the typical car commercial,” says Mr. Hau. “The visuals are on point, but I think people resonate with the fact it is a comedy. It comes across as just a guy genuinely trying to sell his car. We shot it in four or five hours and had it done that night. It was just one of those things we created where we felt so good about it and it is just blatantly funny.

“Car commercials are always about supporting the brand and making it seem like it is the greatest car on Earth and you have to buy it. It’s the Jeeps driving through the mud, or the cars driving along gorgeous highways…and the reality is the car experience is nothing like that. It is basically plastic leather seats and a car going backward and forward. To me, a car is a tool. This is an opportunity to flip it on its head.”

But it has also been a tool for Chris, Rob and the rest of Know Hau to show what they are really made of. Mr. Hau says over the last few months, they have been making a concerted effort to grow their company and this was the first opportunity for everyone on the team to bring in their A-Game and hone their collective skill sets.

“We decided to use this car as a way to build the team and see how all our skillsets fit in and it just worked out so perfectly, everything from the idea to the execution of visuals, to the voiceover and then working with our marketing person to build awareness,” he says. “For me, it was the first chance to work as a team where everybody’s skills were brought to the table and everyone delivered.

“Since then, we have had a lot of work requests from the States, as well as requests from car companies as well, so it is creating an opportunity for the career side as well.”

But, after a year, what’s Rob holding out for on doing a deal on the car?

“He has had a couple of offers for the asking price and he is just waiting to see if they actually go through,” Chris explains. “If not, there are a few others he is going to mull over. He wants to be able to sell it to somebody in the York Region area.

“[Going viral] always comes down to creating great content. Quality will always rise to the top. Just create genuine content you’re really excited about. This wasn’t strategically planned to the full degree. It was, ‘Let’s make something amazing and see what the world thinks!’”

To see what you think, log onto Facebook and look up Chris Hau.