Lyft Black Service is the brand’s premium, chauffeur-style luxury ride service for high-end travel, special occasions, or business trips. Its target market is sophisticated. So is Zulu Alpha Kilo’s campaign. The Art of Arrival features three vignettes, each capturing the reflective moments allowed by a ride before a prominent New Yorker makes their entrance into the city. New York Rangers goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist; The Real Housewives of New York star, Sai De Silva; and chef, Roze Traore, each a cultural leader in their sector of society, describe how the ride prepares them for what’s ahead while underlining their connection to New York’s cultural and business scene.

Shot in black and white, the cinematic campaign turns the ride into a quiet moment of focus before the door opens onto the city. The campaign positions Lyft Black as part of the creative process itself: the last stretch of focus before the work begins.

• Henrik Lundqvist is the Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender and longtime face of the New York Rangers, rides down Eighth Avenue, past the arena where he built his career.
• Sai De Silva is one of NYC’s leading style voices and veteran star of The Real Housewives of New York, makes her arrival in SoHo after a rare moment of calm with Lyft Black.
• Roze Traore is New York executive chef and entrepreneur who came up through Eleven Madison Park and the NoMad and has now expanded his culinary empire to Côte d’Ivoire, rides through downtown.

“In New York, the way you arrive matters,” says Cass Zawadowski, Executive Creative Director of Lyft Global. “But what happens before that matters just as much. We wanted to honor the part of the ride no one talks about: those few minutes of quiet luxury in transit, when you can put the phone down, collect yourself and walk in ready. Whether it’s Henrik getting his head in the game, Sai heading into a crowded room or Roze on his way back to the kitchen, everyone needs that space, and that’s what Lyft Black is really giving you.”

“Audiences have grown tired of polish for its own sake. They’re looking for taste they actually trust,” said Tim Gordon, Chief Creative Officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo. “So, we went to real New Yorkers with real influence, people who’ve earned their place in this city’s culture, and let them tell their stories from the backseat. Lyft Black is part of how they move through New York, and that says more than any ad line could.”

Credits

Client: Lyft
VP, Marketing: Dan Freidman
Senior Director, Brand Marketing & Creative: Brooke Papri
Group Brand Marketing Manager: Kayla Osmond
Brand Marketing Manager: Amy Allen-Smith
Senior Manager, Media: Ange Mendoza
Marketing Program Manager: Meg Norton
Global ECD: Cass Zawadowski
ACD, Creative: Tyler Schell
Senior Art Director: Natasha Romanelli
Group Production Manager: Ellen Black
Producer: Jackie Pal
Communications Manager: Lily Zahn
Social: Ramsey Shindell
Senior Director, Luxury & Livery: Ben Metcalf
GM, New York: Peter Day

Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Chief Creative Officers: Tim Gordon & Jenny Glover
Chief Strategy Officer: Heather Segal
Executive Creative Director: Chris Colliton
Associate Creative Director, Copy: Dylan Thompson
Associate Creative Director, Art Direction: Carlos Veras
Design Director: Dejan Djuric
Business Group Director: Tara Collins
Account Director: Matthew Vares
Creative Workflow Director: Michelle Philpott
Head of Production: Ola Stodulska
Executive Producer: Kelly Mikhael
Producer: Ryan Siddon
Director, Culture & Influence: Will Garden

Production Company: Greenpoint Pictures
Owner: Michael Kuhn
Creative Director: Niles Roth
Executive Producer, Partner: Tatiana Rudzinski
Head of Production: Karen Berkowitz
Executive Producer: Bethany MacMillan
Line Producer: Amalia Bradstreet
Director: Kalum Ko
1st AD: Nick Sossi Romano
Director of Photography: Danyal Khan Niazi

Editing: Greenpoint Pictures
Editor: Joe Walker
Executive Producer, Post: Victoria Vallas
Post-Production & VFX: Studio FEATHER
Lead Finishing & VFX Artist: Dequieria “DQ” Atherton
Colourist: Kevin Wu
Managing Director: Sara Windrim
Head of VFX: Colin Cunningham
Executive Producer: Emily Goldberg

Audio & Music: Grayson Music Group
Executive Producer & Partner: Kelly McCluskey
Senior Producer: Clare McGonigle
Audio Engineer: Eric Hulme
Music & Voice Director: Ali Willa Milner
Sound Designer: Ben Swarbrick