If passion had a sound, what would that sound be? MagnaFlow’s latest video spotlight, “The Sound of
Passion,” brilliantly explores this through the point-of-view of racing legend Mario Andretti. The new
four-minute video produced by Campsite Media House puts viewers into the mind of Andretti: he shares his childhood years in Italy, beginning with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, recalling vividly the sound of the Formula One engines and how experiencing the race firsthand sparked his fascination with racing. With cinematic visuals expertly directed by Logan Hendricks, “The Sound of Passion” is personal, poignant and intimate, creating a connection with the viewer through authentic, powerful storytelling. It’s the kind of short-form spot that doesn’t feel like branded content, worthy of awards consideration.
Sound has a vital emotional pay-off in this spot. The faint sounds of the Verdi aria “Eri Tu” play in the background as the viewer is introduced to an introspective Andretti in his home, surveying his collection of family photos and race memorabilia. He stops to look at one photo in particular, a black-and-white photo
of himself as a child. The sounds of the Italian Grand Prix start to filter in as we’re pulled into his memory. Andretti says: “That sound, the Formula One Engines, were so awesome. I could feel it. I’ve never forgotten it. I became fascinated with racing right then and there.”
We cut to a boy watching the race from behind a wire fence. The sounds of the cars whizzing by morphs into laughter as he is now running around his yard with a pot lid using it as a steering wheel. He’s mimicking the sounds of the cars he just saw in the last scene. “I was bit. By the time I was fifteen, my family had come to the United States to begin a new life. And that’s when I heard that sound again. I just had to go find it. It was like it was calling me. And I had no choice but to answer it.”
We’re transported inside one of Mario’s old cars. He’s 20 years old and behind the wheel. “The sound is like a poetic motion… the opera of motor racing. It gives you goosebumps to listen.”
The Verdi aria peaks as we’re transported to a tunnel leading out to another racetrack. Mario stands in a race suit with his back to the camera, helmet to his side. Everything is in a frenzy around Mario as photographers flash noisily (he’s a star now) but he stands there in the moment. “It was always controlled chaos out there. The big crews yelling, the roar of the engines, and the crowd. As a driver there’s a point where you have to shut all that off. You have to go into your zone.”
The sound pulls us back to his home in Pennsylvania, present-day. Mario looks at a wall of awards. “I was focused on winning. Nothing else.” Mario takes a sip of coffee. He’s contemplating something.
“I look at a photo or a trophy today and you know what? It’s more than a memory. I get the feeling. I can hear it. Those engines, those sounds, they are my song. Stock, Nascar, Formula One… they all played a different song and I loved them all. And I still do.” Mario enters his garage, gets behind the wheel of his car. He starts the engine and we hear that famous MagnaFlow sound as we cut to black.
Mario Andretti has served as an ambassador to MagnaFlow for more than 17 years. Throughout the course of his five-decade long career, Andretti drove everything from midget cars to Formula One, taking the checkered flag 111 times and solidifying his legacy as one of the most decorated drivers of all time. He was named “Driver of the Year” in three different decades (’60s, ’70s and ’80s), “Driver of the Quarter Century” in the ’90s and the Associated Press named him “Driver of the Century” in January 2000.
“The Sound of Passion” was produced by Campsite Media House, a full-service video production company in Southern California founded by Marcus Vadas, Dave Paine and Logan Hendricks. The video is available now on the MagnaFlow YouTube channel/Facebook page as well as the YouTube Channel/Facebook page for Campsite Media House. A :15 cutdown is currently being broadcast on Discovery channel and eligible for Emmy consideration in the Outstanding Commercial category.
Campsite Media House PR