Ford Mobile Service

Ford’s Mobile Service vans will come to you, wherever you are. Yes, even the boxing gym or your own driveway.

We were tasked with filming two broadcast spots for this 2026 Olympic Season campaign written by VML and directed by Danny Corey in partnership with Taproot Pictures. Both days on set, one in December and the other in January, were the two coldest filming days I’ve ever experienced, and each day consisted of considerable chunks of time filming outside in the elements. To keep our crew and gear warm, we kept the coffee and hot chocolate flowing, went through multiple boxes of hand and foot warmers, and created spaces inside for folks to rest and recharge.

While our shoot days were a little too cold for comfort, the weeks leading up to the January filming of “Hockey” weren’t cold enough! The hope with filming this spot later in the winter was that we’d have enough time to build and freeze our Art Department-built hockey rink. A month of Detroit winter will do the trick! Or so we thought. The weeks following the build out of the rink were rainy at best, and we watched each day as our plans for a naturally frozen rink slipped away. With a week and a half to go before production, we worked with our Art Director, Zach Thomas, to source an alternative solution which required us to strip out the original rink, and bring in an entirely new one with freezing mechanisms built underneath the rink’s base. We could no longer depend on nature to do it for us. We also planned to have fake snow machines brought in for filming day, as the backyard’s ground lay brown and muddy. Of course, on the morning of shoot day, we arose to an unlikely snow storm which presented a problem we didn’t foresee — too much snow! Our Art Dept. spent the whole shoot day shoveling the driveway and detailing the hero vehicles between every take, as the sky dumped inch after inch of fresh powder on our set. Needless to say, those snow machines never made their debut.

Aside from our battles with the elements, our Detroit crew and phenomenal cast brought their warmth and energy in full force to make these two heart-filled spots. Director Danny Corey is gifted at bringing out nuanced performances with subtle humor and full grade authenticity. As always, we love working with our Taproot Pictures family to deliver excellent filmmaking that doesn’t compromise excellent client service.

CREW

Director - Danny Corey

Executive Producer - Josh Carrasquillo

Co-Producer - Annie Varberg

Co-Producer - Bryan Fellows

Production Managers - Katie Kranz and Giulia Alexander

Production Coordinator - Anita Koltun Wolfram