Beaut start to Holden's TV advert

THE Coast Road turned into a movie set yesterday as Holden filmed a TV commercial.

The TV advertisement for the Holden Sportswagon is filmed on the Coast Road at Sharpes Beach. Picture: Doug Eaton

THE Coast Road turned into a movie set yesterday as Holden filmed a TV commercial.

The international campaign, which will introduce the new Holden Sportswagon, was filmed on the Coast Road between Lennox Head and Ballina, in front of the Lennox Head Surf Club and at the Pat Morton lookout.

Location manager for the commercial, Lauren Cooper, said the motoring giant had filmed one advertisement before on the Northern Rivers and picked the Coast Road for its picturesque beauty.

“It’s a beautiful outlook and it’s a very picturesque road,” Ms Cooper said.

“We picked it because of the stunning landscape and because of the lookout.”

The film crew was using one car for the object of the commercial and had a camera mounted on another car for filming.

The commercial was filmed by the Director’s Group from Melbourne. A date for its release has not been confirmed.

Ballina Shire Council was acting on a state requirement to accept all filming applications, but was more than happy to accommodate the Holden commercial.

“We received an application from a producer to film a Holden advertisement on the Coast Road and approved it as it is a state requirement to promote filming in NSW,” Ballina Shire Council manager of open spaces and reserve, Jillian Pratten, said.

“We get about four or five applications each year to use the iconic road and other places in the shire.

“They were using ‘stop and release’ with local traffic so when there was no traffic they filmed a little bit, then let the traffic pass and started again. We work very hard to make sure these things cause minor disruptions. They were a highly organised group and were great to work with.”

Ms Pratten said projects like the Holden commercial contributed to the local economy as local contractors were hired to control traffic, meals were purchased at nearby restaurants and the area was given greater exposure.

Originally published as Beaut start to Holden's TV advert