ATLANTA— Wrestling legend Ric Flair stars
as an over the top used car salesman in a new campaign for Georgia-based USAuto
Sales. Atlanta creative boutique Nine Mile Circle produced and finished the
three spots in which the 67-year-old strongman, known as “Nature Boy,” plays
the flimflamming proprietor of Papa Flair’s Used Cars. In one, Flair boasts
“we’re body slammin’ prices into the ground,” and then proceeds to dish out the
same treatment to his hapless customers. US Auto Sales is offered as an
alternative for people who’d rather avoid the arm twisting and stereotypical
badgering from a shady used car dealer.

The campaign was conceived by USAuto Sales Marketing
Director Khalil Thompson and directed by Nine Mile Circle’s Les Umberger. The
antics that gave Flair the reputation as “the dirtiest player in the game” are
hilariously transported to a rundown, 1970s vintage car dealership. Flair
struts, grins and offers his trademark shout, “WOOOOO!” while his young, female
cohort tries to maintain her composure and million dollar smile. “Ric’s a very
high energy, funny guy and a natural performer,” says Umberger. “Pairing him
with the girl brought out the best in him…he took it over the top.”

In addition to producing the shoot, Nine Mile Circle
provided editorial, color correction, visual effects, music, sound and
finishing services. Umberger said that for Flair’s segments, the aim was to
mimic the look of low budget ads for local car dealers. “We experimented with
lo-fi looks going back to the VHS era,” he recalls. “The finished spots have a
crazy palette of blues and blacks with orange highlights that brought out the
wood paneling and odd environment of the dealership. By contrast, the scenes
set at a USAuto Sales facility are clean, vibrant and modern.”

For the music, composer Kenneth Lovell also sought
inspiration from the past. “We play off bad car ads from the ‘80s and ‘90s and
shift to a very modern sound at the end,” he explains. “We did a second piece
that is an ode to elevator music and processed it to sound like it’s filtered
through a speaker in the dealership. The overall vibe is ‘get me out of here!’
”

Nine Mile Circle’s rare ability to package creative,
production and post-production services, is an attractive option for
advertisers like USAuto Sales seeking to control costs while boosting
efficiency and creativity. “It’s a great example of what we at Nine Mile can
do,” says Umberger. “We rocked it from concept to completion.”

Credits

Client:                  USAuto
Sales. Khalil Thompson, Marketing Director.

Production & Post: Nine Mile
Circle, Atlanta. Les Umberger, Creative Director, Editor, Visual Effects
Artists; Amanda Oldeen, Executive Producer; Dave Pickett, Colorist; Kenneth
Lovell, Composer, Sound Designer and Audio Engineer.

Ode To Dusty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkRJdDZtJQI

Body Slammin’ Prices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcNND2NQNCw

To Be the Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeFZW0iYM80

About Nine Mile
Circle

Artist owned and operated, Nine Mile Circle is a premiere
post production house offering a full service sensibility in a boutique
environment. The company’s award-winning team collaborates on broadcast, digital
and social media projects with leading ad agencies, networks, production
companies and filmmakers from all over the world. Services include creative
editorial, Flame finishing, visual effects, motion graphics,
animation, color correction, audio mixing, sound design and full
production services all available under one roof.

ninemilecircle.com