British director and artist Em Cooper has teamed up with Montreal-based studio Tonic DNA for a poignant new commercial for Porsche titled The Long Way to “I Do”. Known for her distinct style of animated oil paintings—including her acclaimed work on a Beatles video previously featured in Stash 157—Cooper brings a handcrafted, impressionistic touch to a real-life love story that merges automotive restoration with a cross-country journey.
Produced through the agency adam&eveTBWA, the spot dramatizes the genuine experiences of Jeff and Molly Stockwell. The couple bonded over the painstaking restoration of a vintage 1966 Porsche 912 before embarking on a symbolic drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco to celebrate their wedding. Rather than relying on traditional live-action footage or hyper-realistic CGI, the commercial captures this heartfelt narrative through fluid, evolving oil on canvas animation that mirrors the way human memories shift, blur, and overlap over time.
The Unique Craft of Animated Oil Painting
The creative process behind The Long Way to “I Do” sits at a unique intersection between traditional painting and cinematic storytelling. According to insights shared by Tonic DNA, Em Cooper avoids treating the painted image as a static medium. Instead, she continuously works and reworks the physical surface of her paintings, utilizing the natural movement and texture of wet paint to orchestrate seamless transitions from one visual moment to the next.
This technique allows individual frames and scenes to morph organically. A sweeping landscape can effortlessly dissolve into a human figure, while fine details vanish beneath fresh brushstrokes. One memory gives way to the next without entirely erasing the visual traces of what came before. For this project, this distinctive working method becomes an integral narrative device. The shifting surface of the artwork enables the film to fluidly navigate between the classic Porsche, the open highway, intimate moments between Jeff and Molly, and fragmented snapshots of their shared history. It creates an aesthetic experience driven by the fluid nature of memory rather than the cold precision of a literal, documentary-style reconstruction.
Production Credits
The realization of The Long Way to “I Do” brought together a talented international team spanning creative agencies, specialized animation studios, and production networks.
For the client, Porsche, the project was championed through creative agency partnerships with adam&eveTBWA and Lola USA. The creative leadership team at Lola USA included Executive Creative Director Jason Ashlock, Group Creative Directors Mussashi Shintaku and Sofia Rosell, and creative contributor Nick Marchese.
Production duties were led by Tonic DNA, where director and artist Em Cooper brought her signature visual style to life. The production pipeline was supported by animatic artist Eric Bloduc and Executive Producer Nadim Chartouni. Additionally, Omnicon Production contributed to the overarching production structure, featuring Head of Production East Nick Williams, Director of Production Teri Altman, and Producer Chris Lane.
