Behind the Scenes of “Joyride 2” for Wayne Mazda
There’s a big difference between filming a car and creating a feeling around one.
For our second “Joyride” campaign for Wayne Mazda, the goal wasn’t just to make the red Mazda CX-5 look good, although that was definitely part of it! We wanted to build on the story we started in Wayne Mazda’s original “Joyride”; showing the reason you buy the car in the first place: the freedom to go somewhere, take the long way home and actually enjoy the drive.
2025’s Wayne Mazda “Joyride” - Produced by Sound Imagination | Imagination Video for PS Media Solutions in New Jersey.
This time, we also wanted to move the story forward. The first “Joyride” introduced the tone and our main character; “Joyride 2” gave us a chance to advance the plot and add a little romantic “meet-cute” to the Wayne Mazda world. It made the campaign feel less like a one-off commercial and more like a story we can keep building on.
We filmed over two days, moving between outdoor locations and the Wayne Mazda showroom. That gave us two very different production environments to work with.
Outside, we were dealing with changing sunlight, reflections, uneven ground and all the usual surprises that come with shooting on location.
Inside the dealership, the challenge was different. A showroom is full of glass, overhead lighting and extremely reflective vehicles. It’s also still a working business.
That meant being strategic about where we placed equipment, keeping walkways clear, working in sections and staying flexible when the real business of the dealership needed to take priority.
It’s one of those things viewers never see in the finished commercial, but it matters. Good production isn’t just about getting the shot. It’s about getting the shot without completely taking over someone else’s workplace.
The final commercial may look simple, but just outside the frame there is a director, camera team, lighting crew, producer and several pieces of equipment all working together to make it feel effortless.
One of our favorite parts of these BTS photos is that they show how collaborative commercial productions really are. The finished spot may feature one or two performers and one vehicle, but getting there takes a whole crew paying attention to performance, framing, continuity, reflections, timing and about a hundred other details.
Wayne Mazda’s “Joyride” from 2025 still on air as we’re shooting the 2026 “Joyride 2” commercial.
There’s also something very satisfying about filming the new commercial while the previous year’s “Joyride” spot is still playing on the air on the dealership TVs around us. It’s a nice reminder that the campaign is already part of the Wayne Mazda environment, and that we’re building on something that worked.
“Joyride 2” was produced by Sound Imagination | Imagination Video for PS Media Solutions / Wayne Mazda.