Kia and Innocean tap renowned director François Rousselet for new post-apocalyptic spot
Kia Australia has taken a bold, creative approach to advertising its new EV range, showing it off in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, via Innocean Australia.
The spot hopes to increase awareness of the new range in a way never seen before on Australian television – but to do this, Innocean had to ask some ‘out-of-this-world’ questions.
Kia answers these questions, as they show the quiet EV5 and EV9 vehicles allow a person to get on with life, even if they live in a world inhabited by zombies.
It was directed by international talent François Rousselet from Division, whose portfolio also includes the recent John Lewis Christmas ad, as well as films for A$AP Rocky and the Rolling Stones.
Main talent include Luke Arnold, who played INXS singer Michael Hutchence in the INXS miniseries; Tess Haubrich, who was recently in Spiderhead alongside Chris Hemsworth; and Chloe Zuel, fresh off the back of playing Elizabeth in the Hamilton musical. It also included a special guest appearance from television host and horticulturalist, Jamie Durie, who gave a strong ‘zombie tradie’ performance.
Kia Australia’s general manager of marketing, Dean Norbiato, stressed that creativity is a key player in the brand’s marketing strategy.
“A zombie apocalypse set against sunny Australian suburbia is a pretty unique creative playground to showcase Kia’s EV range in a genuinely entertaining way,” he said.
“We wanted to capture that laid-back Aussie spirit and ingenuity and distinctively showcase the role our range of electric vehicles, and their features, would play in a fantasy zombie world.”
Innocean’s creative directors, Nick Cole and Pat Allenby, echoed Norbiato, adding: “As the EV market grows, so too does the ambition of Kia to deliver truly bold and unexpected work.
“With the masterful direction of Francois Rouselett and the ridiculously hard work of the team around him, we’ve created a campaign that aims to entertain, underpinned by the news that Kia now has a complete range of EVs.”
The campaign rollout leverages Kia’s Australian Open sponsorship, with its launch over the weekend. Innocean has also created bespoke piece-to-camera content with lead actors from the spot, as well as content creators.
Credits:
Client: Kia
General Manager – Marketing: Dean Norbiato
Brand Manager: Brendan McGrath
Social Media and Content Coordinator: Denisha Philipthas
Digital Marketing Manager: Tim Manning
Retail Marketing Assistant Manager: Fion De Silva
Marketing & Facilities Co-ordinator: Brígh Robinson
Agency: Innocean
Production:
Produced by DIVISION
Director: François Rousselet
MD and Executive Producer: Geneviève Triquet
Producer: Melissa Weinman
DOP: Simon Duggan
Production Designer: Michael Iacono
Costume Designer: Matt Stegh
Key Makeup Hair: Mat Hornby
Casting Director: Danny Long Casting
Editor: Adam Wills
Post Production:
Post House: MATHEMATIC
Executive Producer & CEO: Guillaume Marien
Executive Producer: Jade Schiff
Post Producer: Nicolas Bianchi
Supervisor VFX: Thomas Dairain
Colorist: Arthur Paux
Music and Sound: MassiveMusic
Sound Designer: Simon Kane
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Lauren McNamara is a freelance journalist contributing to Mumbrella. She previously spent three years at the publication, most recently as the associate editor. She first joined in 2022 after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS. She left her staff role at Mumbrella in August 2025.
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topics
Campaign
Dean Norbiato
division
electric vehicle
EV
Francois Rousselet
Innocean
Innocean Australia
Kia
Kia Australia
Nick Cole
Pat Allenby
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