How We Built a City—and a Campaign—for Nissan’s Anything But Basic Platform

When Nissan wanted to expand its "Anything But Basic" platform beyond a tagline, we didn’t storyboard. We started city planning.

Working alongside teams at Omnicom, TBWA, Fluent360, and Nissan United, we built an actual town—block by block, skyline to parking lot. This wasn’t just a set. It was a metaphor. A real-world embodiment of Nissan’s desire to move beyond generic messaging and claim its place in a more diverse and dynamic future.

We packed every detail with cultural resonance: signage, shop names, props, and paint schemes that spoke to a richer, more inclusive driver experience. From casting to street layout, we pushed for authenticity—a place that felt like someone lived there, not like it was made to sell something.

There was no neon futurism or post-apocalyptic minimalism here. We created something that could exist in 2025 America—a campaign world where multiculturalism isn’t a “moment,” it’s the foundation. And that made the vehicles feel like they belonged—not just in the campaign, but in the world we live in.

The result? A campaign universe that lets each Nissan model shine in its own world. One that looks nothing like a car commercial—and everything like the future of automotive storytelling.

See how it came together