Here’s an advertising brief you don’t get very often – help an 18-year-old deaf racing driver find new sponsors. Caleb McDuff was diagnosed as profoundly deaf in early childhood. At 16, McDuff became the first deaf racing driver to win a race in the Britcar Trophy Championship. Now McDuff needs to secure more sponsorship to ensure he reaches his goal of competing in the Porsche Carrera World Cup 2027. 

London indie, Hijinks, and production company, The Gardening.Club, answered the brief by turning disability into advantage in its campaign for driver, Caleb McDuff, created through Hijinks’ Positivity Through Creativity programme.

The 90-second campaign film, Fuelled by Silence, uses AI to transport McDuff and his car from familiar racing circuits to the remote reaches of the universe – a place that mimics his deaf driving experience. Narrated by McDuff, the film, directed by Lee J Ford through The Gardening.Club, traces his journey from learning to drive as a child to competing professionally. We discover how, unable to use in-car radio systems available to other competitors, McDuff raced in silence and learned to harness it to his advantage.

Archival footage of McDuff’s childhood racing exploits is blended with AI-generated imagery that places him and his car driving on spectacular remote planets, places where silence reigns. The film reveals that technology now enables him to communicate with his team during races, and ends with McDuff’s statement, “Now I am ready to prove to the world just how loud silence can be.”

Caleb McDuff stated, “I never let being deaf stop me. This film tells my story and shows that when you believe in yourself, you can overcome any barrier. My message to everyone is to always follow your dreams. My message to potential sponsors is that I’m only just getting started.”

The campaign was developed through Hijinks’ Positivity Through Creativity programme, set up to serve pro bono clients. Work through the programme has also included campaigns for Women’s Aid, Legalitees and WeRepresent.

Tamryn Kerr, co-founder and chief creative officer at Hijinks, commented, “The starting point wasn’t that Caleb succeeds despite the silence, but that the silence helped make him the driver he is. We wanted potential sponsors to see his extraordinary talent, focus and ambition, and understand just how far he has the potential to go. AI allowed us to bring that idea to life on a scale that would never otherwise have been possible for a pro bono project. Used with imagination and purpose, it helped us give Caleb’s story the platform and breadth of recognition it deserves.”

Morgan Whitlock, executive producer at TheGardening.Club, added, “From the moment I met Caleb and his team I knew we’d do everything we could to support them. Everyone on this project has brought that same passion and commitment, it’s been a phenomenal process and that shows in the film the team have created. If it moves the needle for Caleb, it’ll have been worth every moment.”

The film is running across social, online video, press and Caleb McDuff Motorsport’s website, with plans for out-of-home and cinema activity in discussion.

Credits:

Client: Caleb McDuff Motorsport 
Racing Director & Operations: Ian McDuff

Creative Agency: Hijinks
Co-founder & CEO: Alicia Iveson
Co-founders & Chief Creative Officers: Tamryn Kerr & Marc Allenby
Creative Director: Gabriel Garcia
Art Director: Pip Hornby
Copywriter: Tamara Walbourn
Head of Production: Charlotte Greywoode
Account Directors: Laura Spadaro & Lucy Burns
Design Director: Chris Willis
Motion Designer: Mossie Henryjones

Production Company: The Gardening.Club
Director & AI Artist: Lee J Ford
Executive Producer: Morgan Whitlock
Producer: Theo Youngstein
Production Coordinator: Clare Hendra

Editing: Tenthree
Editor: Iain Whitewright
Edit producer: Ed Hoadley

Sound: King Lear
Sound Designer: Theo Vernon
Producer: Leo Clayton

Grade: Gramercy Park Studio
Colourist: Ben Rodgers
Grade Producer: Annika Gustavsson
Recording Studio: One Louder Studios

Director & Recording Engineer: Phil Smith
Audio Technician: Owain Hiscocks