Project Details
Client – Petrol Industries
Marketing – Martine Boerrigter, Iris N. and team
Film Production Agency – Matemade
Director – Rakhal Heijtel
Producer – Niels Gross
Campaign Stills – Jos Kottmann
Photo Assistant – Jarno de Groot
Shot by – Niels Gross & Rakhal Heijtel
Fixers – Matthew Tomac, Amanda Morales
Hair & Make-up – Amber Rose
Edit – Bowie Pladet
The Baja 1000 adventure
For the Spring Summer 2026 campaign, Petrol Industries once again partnered with Matemade to develop and produce a complete international campaign across California, USA.
Inspired by the Baja 1000
the campaign celebrates freedom, exploration and life on the open road. Spanning three distinct themes—Denim Driven Baja, Coastal Horizons and Road Trip Essentials—the story follows a journey from rugged desert landscapes to the California coastline, capturing the adventurous spirit at the heart of the Petrol brand.
Matemade was responsible for the complete creative production, leading every stage from concept development and pre-production to photography, filmmaking and post-production. The production resulted in a fully integrated campaign consisting of campaign photography, films, showroom content and social assets, all created within a single production.
American Heritage. Hollywood Backdrop.
Producing in Hollywood’s backyard
Unlike a traditional service production, the entire project was developed and executed through Matemade’s own international production network. From Europe, we coordinated every aspect of the production—from location scouting, permits and logistics to local crews, suppliers and production management—allowing Petrol Industries to produce a large-scale campaign in the United States with a lean, highly efficient team.
The result is a cinematic campaign that balances authentic storytelling with striking lifestyle imagery, bringing the adventurous spirit of the Baja 1000 to life while showcasing the versatility of the Spring Summer 2026 collection.
Small Teams. Big Adventures
The Spirit of the Open Road
Inspired by the legendary Baja 1000, this campaign was built around one central idea: movement. Rather than a single destination, the story unfolds across deserts, mountain roads, small towns and the California coastline, capturing the freedom of an endless American road trip.
To bring this vision to life, we produced the entire campaign across California with a lean European crew, supported by a carefully selected network of local partners. From scouting remote desert roads to coordinating vehicles, permits and logistics across multiple regions, every production decision was made to maximise both efficiency and visual diversity.
From Desert Dust to Coastal Horizons
Creating the feeling of an authentic American adventure required much more than finding beautiful locations. Each stop along the journey had to contribute to the narrative while remaining productionally achievable within a tight schedule.
Months of location research resulted in a route that connected rugged desert landscapes, quiet roadside towns, winding mountain passes and the Pacific coastline. By carefully planning every move, we were able to capture an extraordinary variety of environments within a single production, creating a campaign that feels expansive, cinematic and unmistakably American.
The Spirit of the Open Road
A production of this scale overseas demands a partner who understands the weight — and the pace — of fashion and lifestyle campaigns. We searched carefully for the right local production support: a team that could match our standards, anticipate challenges, and collaborate seamlessly across long days and multiple units.
Working internationally means navigating different regulations, cultural nuances, and working styles. Local permits, union boundaries, insurance requirements, gear availability — every region has its own playbook. Matemade knows how to interpret these differences and streamline them into a smooth, workable plan.
Our job is to fully unburden the client while safeguarding the creative vision, campaign scope, and financial structure.
From Desert to Coastal Horizons
After months of preparation, we executed a 10-day shoot across diverse locations with a cast of eight models. The output was extensive:
- 60 social assets tailored for Petrol’s international channels
- 3 unique brand films, each with its own tonality
- A collection of stills that capture the raw spirit of Petrol’s DNA
Every deliverable was crafted to stand on its own — yet together they form a cohesive visual universe rooted in the American landscape. The result is a campaign that feels unmistakably Petrol — bold, real, and built on craft.
