Currently, there are relatively few regulations around branded content and entertainment in the United States.

Hosted by Pennzoil spokesman and country music superstar Tim McGraw, the film launched at a red carpet event at the New York International Auto Show, before premiering in primetime on the National Geographic Channel.

“The main message of the doc... overcoming obstacles to stand out in a hyper-competitive field... dovetails nicely with the product itself,” wrote Adweek’s Andrew McMains.

“Breaking Barriers” aired with 60-second interstitials showcasing Pennzoil’s own story of innovation and role in the record-breaking moment.

Ahead of the premiere, teaser videos built anticipation, with a massive digital strategy and partnerships with iTunes, Hulu and more dramatically increasing viewership.

We caught the attention of the media, with coverage including Reuters, Monsters & Critics, and Adweek.

“The main message of the doc – overcoming obstacles to stand out in a hyper-competitive field – dovetails nicely with the product itself,” wrote Andrew McMains in Adweek.

And our impact has been huge. We’ve seen over 25 million views of our digital content with a 66% completion rate.

Most importantly, the campaign has resulted in a dramatic 25% increase in volume sales (compared to Pennzoil’s other synthetic motor oil, per internal client data)!

Brand communication awareness for PurePlus increased 35%, while we also saw a 21% increase in awareness among synthetic motor oil users and a 34% awareness increase among current Pennzoil users – far outranking all of our benchmarks (per third-party client brand tracker).

According to Chris Hayek, global brand director for Shell, “What has been accomplished to date from a creative stand-point as well as business result efforts is nothing short of amazing.”