Wearing Two Hats: Creator and Actor in One Commercial
It began with a black-and-white photo
Just an old snapshot of myself as a child, proudly playing with a toy tractor, back when big dreams came in small, plastic wheels. I had no idea that decades later, that image would become the starting point of a commercial for ISEKI at the Longines Tops International Arena 2025.
As the creator of the campaign, I was seeking a personal angle - something authentic, nostalgic, and emotional. I stumbled upon that childhood photo and thought, 'What if that kid became part of the story?'
I scanned and colorized the original image in Adobe Photoshop, carefully bringing the memory to life with subtle tones and details, including the skin and the bright red of a miniature tractor, all rebuilt pixel by pixel.
But I didn't stop there
With the help of AI, I transformed the still image into a short moving clip. The process felt like time travel: the child version of me came to life, smiling, moving, and playing, just as I once did.
To complete the video, I blended the AI-generated sequence with real footage of ISEKI tractors. At the last moment, I decided to turn the footage of myself as a kid back into black and white for a more nostalgic look. I added sound design and subtle effects to bring the scenes together.
A commercial that blends past and present, memory and machinery. A tribute not just to the quality of ISEKI tractors, but to the dreams that start small and grow into something powerful.
And yes, this time, the little boy became an actor. Going for Hollywood now...
