Rivian is launching its first ad campaign, with digital ads showcasing stories from Rivian owners about how they’ve used their electric truck’s unique capabilities in interesting ways.

An ad campaign for a car company might not usually be notable, but this one is worth a little attention because it’s an EV startup running paid video ads… something that another notable EV startup long refused to do.

EV startups have mostly gotten results from word of mouth or other marketing efforts like ride-and-drives, high-traffic store placements and so on. Ad placements have been a relatively more rare (but not nonexistent) method to get the word out.

Rivian’s new commercial departs somewhat from the standard expectations of a car commercial. Unlike the regular glamour shots of the car and environment and voiceover touting engineering, sustainability or the like (see Fisker, Lucid, Tesla), it instead tells a wordless story about a way an owner made use of their truck to do something fun.

The ad, titled “Last Lemonade Standing,” tells a story of dueling suburban lemonade stands in the theme of a showdown from a spaghetti western. Two children across the street from each other are competing to offer the better lemonade product.

In the end, one stand wins out by upgrading to lemonade slushies – using a frunk full of ice cubes and a blender secreted away in the Rivian R1T’s gear tunnel, powered by the outlets in the truck’s bed (kids these days! back when I had a slushy stand as a kid, we had to use a hand crank… yes, really).

It’s a fictionalization… but Rivian says that the ad was based on a “Real Rivian Adventure” from the Carter family, who are shown at the end of the ad.

“This campaign is about celebrating the people who define what Rivian truly is. Our vehicles are made to empower exploration and adventure, but it’s the stories our owners create that give them real soul. We’re excited to spotlight these moments through cinematic storytelling in a fun and engaging way.” 

-Denise Cherry, VP of Marketing, Rivian

The ad campaign launches today on “all digital platforms, streaming services and social media.”

Rivian says it has three more ads planned, titled “Saving Summer,” “Bayou Country.” and “The Milk Run,” which will debut throughout the year.

Rivian is also asking owners to send in their own Rivian adventures, either by sending them to letsgo@rivian.com or posting them to social media with the hashtag #RealRivianAdventures, and says that some stories might even show up in a future ad campaign.

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