Rico NoëlCreative
Direction

2023 · ZDF Wintersport relaunch

For the 2023 ZDF Wintersport relaunch, we created a more intimate and cinematic view of winter sports, focused on the pressure, focus and emotion athletes feel before the race.

The result was a raw new visual language for ZDF, built around real athletes and the moments before everything begins.

2026 · Milano Cortina

For Milano Cortina 2026, we pushed that world into something more iconic and spectacular.

Olympic fire and Italian passion came alive in snow and ice through glowing orange light, animated LED suits and practical effects, all crafted and shot for real.

The campaign kept the human intensity of the first film, but turned it into a much bigger Olympic image.

Task & Insight

January 29th, 2026 marked exactly 140 years since Carl Benz invented the automobile. It was also the day we launched the new S-Class.

Our observation: whenever something important happened in politics, sports, music or culture, an S-Class was never far away.

The Idea

The Legacy Convoy: Generations of S-Class predecessors turned 140 years of innovation into one continuous journey through time, arriving at the new S-Class.

Execution

We transformed the Mercedes-Benz Museum into a stage of light, sound and movement.

Golden beams moved across the concrete walls as the Legacy Convoy emerged through a laser stargate, accompanied by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The show built towards the reveal of the new S-Class and ended with a live performance by Sam Smith.

For one night, 140 years of history came alive.

Task & Insight

The new electric AMG GT 4-Door Coupé was still camouflaged. We could not fully reveal the car yet, but we could already show what it was capable of.

Las Vegas during Formula 1 week gave us the perfect stage. Brad Pitt brought Hollywood, George Russell brought Formula 1, and the car brought more than 1000 hp of electric AMG performance.

So instead of making another teaser that hides the product, we wanted to create a moment people would actually talk about.

The Idea

Worth the Wait: Brad Pitt is simply waiting for his car, until a camouflaged AMG drifts in with George Russell behind the wheel.

Execution

We shot the stunt in Las Vegas around the Formula 1 weekend, combining a cinematic social film with real, complex driving action that became a proof point for the car itself.

The drifting, speed and precision were not visual effects pretending to be performance.

People loved seeing George step outside his usual role and play the unexpected valet alongside one of the most recognizable actors in the world.

Across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, the campaign generated more than 100 million views, supported by teasers, stills, making-of content and stunning visuals by Larry Chen.

Task & Insight

For the new Genesis brand vision, we wanted to redefine what luxury could mean today.

Our observation was simple: life keeps getting faster, louder and more demanding. In that world, real luxury is not about adding more. It is about creating space for your mind.

The Idea

Designed for Your Mind: We positioned Genesis as a mental sanctuary, where luxury becomes a feeling of calm.

Execution

The main film was built to make that feeling tangible.

Every image, movement and sound was designed around calm, precision and space. Instead of pushing the product forward, we let the film breathe and used the craft itself to express the idea.

The result was less about explaining Genesis and more about making you feel what the brand stands for.

Task & Insight

The new GLA is made for a generation that does not just watch culture. They create, capture and share it.

So for its world premiere in Warsaw, we turned the launch itself into a place for creation. A film studio where every feature of the car could become a set, a scene or a piece of content.

The Idea

GLA Studios: Turn the world premiere into a working film studio, then blur the line between the film on screen and what is actually happening in the room.

Execution

Across the space, interactive film sets turned the features of the GLA into a playground for guests and creators.

The final reveal happened inside our main studio. A music video we had shot with Ravyn Lenae started playing across the stage. Then, right in the middle of it, the curtain dropped and the image suddenly continued in real life behind the screen.

Ravyn was standing there, inside the exact same scene, performing live and stepping out of the newly revealed GLA.

For a moment, nobody quite knew where the film ended and reality began.

Task & Insight

For IAA 2025, our task had two parts: develop the public booth concept together with Jangled Nerves, and the pre-night that opened it with the world premiere of the new electric GLC and a broader press program.

The new GLC gave us the key insight. Its grille brings back one of the most iconic Mercedes-Benz design elements, reinterpreted for a new electric era. That became our bridge between heritage and future.

The Idea

Timeless Journey / Flow State: The iconic grille became a monumental light installation, and the show inside a 270-degree flow where past, present and future merged.

Execution

Together with TLD we translated the idea into a light installation changing through five timeless vibes, and a playground for content and visitors.

Right after, guests and press were invited to a central stage surrounded by immersive LED content and sound. The world premiere of the new GLC sat at the heart of the show, while product, technology and strategic topics became part of the same visual and emotional world.

Instead of presenting facts one after another, we turned them into an experience the whole room could feel.

Task & Insight

Hot Wheels is one of those rare brands that means something different to every generation. For some it is nostalgia, for others design, car culture or simply play. But the feeling is always the same: it makes you want to touch it, try it, race it and become part of the world.

As one of the collaborations around the new CLA, that gave us a chance to reach far beyond the usual automotive audience.

The Idea

A life-sized Hot Wheels art car based on the CLA, in a world where you were sometimes tiny and sometimes the kid in control.

Execution

We revealed the car at Race Service in Los Angeles and built the space around shifts in scale and perspective.

A miniature downtown made guests feel like giants, while oversized garage elements and environments flipped the perspective and made them feel small again. Tracks, cars and interactive details invited people to play rather than simply look. Additional digital assets set the art car into action.

Task & Insight

With IONIQ, Hyundai was introducing a new electric brand and a lineup built around new ways of living.

The bigger thought behind it was change. Climate, mobility, technology and everyday life were all shifting at once. That can feel abstract and far away, but change always becomes real through individual choices.

That became our starting point.

The Idea

I’m in Charge: We put the individual at the center of the electric future.

Execution

At the center was a global film directed by Amber Grace Johnson, bringing together people, places and stories from around the world into one optimistic vision.

We designed the production as a global content engine, creating more than 250 assets from the main film shoot, dedicated photography and additional setups, all adaptable to very different markets and audiences.

The campaign reached people at massive scale and gave the launch of the new IONIQ lineup one clear voice across every touchpoint.

Task & Insight

War had destroyed places across Syria that once held everyday life, culture and memory.

But millions of personal photos still existed online. Together, they formed an accidental archive of places that were gone.

The Idea

Rebuilt from Memories: Pre-war social media images became explorable 3D reconstructions of places that were lost.

Execution

Together with Exozet and Meta, we turned these images into VR and mobile experiences people could enter and explore.

The project transformed ordinary social posts into a tool for cultural preservation and awareness.