Stealing a bicycle has never been more difficult, according to the three professional thieves starring in Dutch brand VanMoof‘s latest ad. Kid Whizz is a cyber security “specialist,” Kat Burgler is an international art thief, and Nick Pickston, who is a master pick-locker, know a thing or two about robbing. After all, they can successfully crack a code, their portfolio includes some Pablos and Rembrandts, and they pride themselves on winning the world lock-picking championship three times.
Despite being professional burglars, their stealing skills are quite useless when it comes to illegally turning a VanMoof e-bike into one of their personal properties. Equipped with “Peace of Mind” services, the VanMoof’s S3 and X3 are built with anti-theft technology, “unfortunately” putting thieves out of business. After having tried to steal such a bike, the tree burglars share the experiences they had with the VanMoof S3, only to conclude that the brand’s products are “practically unstealable.”
The “Hard Times for Super Thieves” video, directed by British animator Tobias Fouracre, showcases these highly talented thieves making a confession. Taking the shape of a series of mockumentary-style studio interviews, the trio reveals that they have failed in trying to steal an e-bike; anyway, “who really wants to steal” a VanMoof, after all, wonders Pickston, who looks like having troubles admitting that he was defeated by an electric bicycle.
The stop-motion animation is a humorous way to address a serious issue: bike theft. Speaking about why the team settled on such a different approach, VanMoof Creative Director, Colin Cornwell, said: “Of course, it’s not a particularly fun subject to talk about — no one likes getting their bike stolen. But we’ve found that when we want to talk about the innovations involved in protecting riders’ bikes, it can quite quickly stray into being too severe and techy.”
“The fun side of this film came from us trying to come up with a totally opposite direction to the rigorous testing we put our bikes through. These three ‘super thieves’ were the perfect way to show that: they might be able to steal the most expensive things, hack their way into anything, or pick any lock in town – but they can’t get into our bikes,” Cornwell continued.
The characters, each with their own charm, were brought to life using different materials such as plasticine for eyes and mouths, resin for the rest of the heads, and silicone for hands. The VanMoof S3 replica, however, was 3D printed and spray painted by hand, to look as realistic as possible.
Rather than contouring them as frightening thieves, the “Super Thieves” seem to be a group of cute fellows who, even though they brag about their talent for stealing expensive stuff, give an honest opinion about VanMoof’s anti-theft technology, admitting it can give them a real headache. So while they weren’t able to actually steal the S3, the trio surely stole the spotlight, gathering over 1.7 million views on YouTube since it was launched on January 26.
Credits:
Production Company: Rowdy
Director: Tobias Fouracre
Producer: Daisy Garside
CMO: Andrew Smith (VanMoof)
Creative Director: Colin Cornwell (VanMoof)
Producer: Kim Buttery (VanMoof)