Škoda Revels Its 500-million-year-old brand character ‘Ichy’

Meet ‘Ichy’ the Ichthyostega, an extinct creature whose search for a new level of comfort 500 million years ago led him to be the first creature to walk out of the water and onto land. He’s the star of Škoda’s new campaign to launch the all-new Peaq, their most premium and most comfortable electric vehicle yet, following the design philosophy of Modern Solid, after the recent launches of Enyaq, Elroq & Epiq.

Grounded in the insight that the search for comfort drives us to explore, the campaign plays out this idea through the adventure and evolution of Ichy - a prehistoric half-fish, half-lizard character. Until that search is satisfied by the Škoda Peaq, a vehicle that – as its name suggests - represents the peak of comfort.

Ichy has been brought to life and designed by Untold Studios in London to be distinctive, charming and full of personality. His journey, directed by Sam Brown, tells the story of never-ending curiosity, the search for comfort, and inner confidence.

Set in a prehistoric world, we follow Ichy as he moves boldly and with a sense of curiosity through a new world. He is unfazed by the dangers and trepidations; a nearby eruption can’t stop his swagger and strut, which is set to Aim & YZ’s “Ain’t got time to waste”.  Following his journey, we are taken through a time-lapse sequence, which propels us into the present day in the blink of an eye.

We land on a modern family enjoying the spacious interior of the all-new electric Peaq, drawing a direct parallel between Ichy's search for comfort on land and the comfort found in Škoda's latest generation of vehicles. By connecting these two moments across half a billion years, the campaign celebrates the enduring curiosity that drives us all to seek new heights of comfort and finds the answer in the Škoda Peaq.

The global campaign, created by AMV BBDO, and is live across TV, digital, OOH and social globally.

Meredith Kelly, Global Head of Marketing for Škoda, said: “Peaq is Škoda’s new flagship; the most beautiful car we have ever made, so the story had to showcase this bold statement. Going back 500 million years to find the first spark of comfort on land felt right. Progress always starts with someone brave enough to try something new.

Guy Hobbs, ECD, AMV BBDO, said: “Peaq is a proud moment for Škoda. It takes the brand to new heights, so we wanted the work to do the same. To take comfort somewhere more emotional. Into confidence, curiosity and exploration.”

CREDITS

Chief Client and Business Officer: Katy Wright

Deputy Chief Strategy Officer: Ben Jaffe

Creative President: Owen Lee

Executive Creative Director:  Ben Edwards & Guy Hobbs

Client Services Director: Joe Pirrie

Global Business Lead: Kelly StLawrence

Account Director: Mason Cooksley

Account Manager: Nikita Ghai

Snr. Strategy Director: Tom Lindo

Senior Creative: Giovanni Greco  

Head of Art: Jack Walker

Producer: Rachael Clarke

Production Company: Untold Studio

Production Company: Rouge Films

Track: Aim feat YZ ‘Ain’t Got Time to Waste’
Music supervision: 12 Decibels 

Production Company - Rogue Films 

Director - Sam Brown 

Producer - Polly Ruskin 

MD / EP - Kate Taylor 

Production Manager - Fran Resteghini 

DOP - Sebastian Blenkov 

1st AD - Rob Blishen 

Service company - Virtual Films 

EP - Scott Horan 

Producer - Joan Garcia 

Edit - Tenthree 

Editor - Eve Ashwell 

MD/Producer - Ed Hoadley

Factory Audio:

Audio Post-Production: Factory Studios 

Creative Director (Audio): Anthony Moore 

Sound Designer: Andy Isaias 

Audio Producer: Max Doran-Bown 

Senior Audio Producer: Olivia Endersby 

VFX Studio:old Studios 
Executive Director: Ian Berry
Producer: Larisa Covaciu 
Line Producer: Zuzanna Drozdz
Creative Director: Ben Cronin
VFX Supervisors:  Alex Grey and Sam Driscoll
Animation Supervisor: Suvi Jokiniemi
DMP Supervisor: Cameron Johnson
Leads: Jinhui Wang and Julian Johnson
VFX Artists: 
Abhishek Changkakoty, Ahmed Saady, Alberto Lara, Alison Phillips, Ananda PM, Andrew Cook, Angela Bernardo, Ankur Arora, Anthony Koson, Antoine Mariez, Arijit Ghosh, Avinash Savant, Bhavesh Budhkar, Claudio Quarra Sacco, Evan Roberts, Dinesh Reddy, Ed Turvey, Felix Marrington-Reeve, Francesca Guarino, Francesca McCall, Jakkam Santosh, James Primhak, Jiyoung Lee, Kalaiarasu P, Kapil Rana, Kim Ranzani, Kshitij Jangir, Lukas Gecas, Luke Warpus, Madivadanatamilpariday Ramamoorthy, Manjunath R, Manoj Ravi, Marco Capellazzi, Olivier Ballast, Oliver Auguszt, Parineeta Jaiswal, Philippe Moine, Pramod Dwivedi, Prajeesh E, Shivani Shah, Silvia Bartoli, Sumitha D, Therese Vildefall, Tom Nagy, Tom Pegg
Online: Dave Rose, Nick Sze, Pete Hughes, Warren Gebhardt
Colourist: Hannibal Lang
Colour Producer: Hannah George