Unruled Shoots World’s First All-Thermal Commercial for Teledyne FLIR Marine

Unruled Outdoor Agency, a marketing agency specialising in the outdoor lifestyle category, has created ‘Sea Differently,’ a new campaign for Teledyne FLIR Marine. This innovative marketing effort puts thermal imaging at the center of a maritime story, shooting an entire maritime campaign through heat – not light.

For “Sea Differently,” Unruled took Teledyne FLIR’s defining market advantage, true thermal vision, and pushed it all the way through the creative concept and production. Rather than shoot a conventional marine campaign and simply demonstrate the product within it, the agency proposed something far more ambitious: shoot the entire campaign through FLIR thermal cameras. The result is what Unruled believes to be the world’s first commercial campaign filmed entirely in thermal.

That distinction became the creative opportunity. While much of the night-vision category relies on amplifying available light, FLIR thermal technology detects heat, providing visibility even in complete darkness. For Unruled, that meant the product itself could become the production tool, creating a visual language no conventional camera could replicate. It also brought credibility to the idea: FLIR thermal technology is trusted by professional mariners, law enforcement agencies, search and rescue organizations, military units and the U.S. Coast Guard.

“Nobody’s shot a campaign like this before, entirely in thermal imaging,” said Austin Scott, chief creative officer at Unruled. “FLIR actually sees heat, so we put our money where our mouth is and made the whole thing prove it. Once you see the water this way, you can never go back. This is about how you actually Sea Differently.”

The four-day production took Unruled onto the ocean, where water, engines, people, wildlife and rapidly changing weather became a constantly evolving thermal canvas. Because the cameras visualize temperature rather than conventional light, familiar maritime scenes took on an entirely different character, requiring the production team to rethink how each shot was composed and captured.

“Working with a FLIR thermal camera system meant filming with heat, not light,” said Ben Cantrell, head of production at Unruled and director of photography on the project. “As a director of photography, I had to rewire my brain to think in terms of actual temperature rather than light intensity. We discovered innovative ways to light and shape the image using heat guns and ice packs, pushing a camera system that wasn’t designed for cinema to its creative limits.”

“For more than 20 years, FLIR has been at the forefront of marine thermal imaging, bringing this technology from specialized government and professional applications to a broader community of commercial and recreational mariners,” said Michelle Hildyard, General Manager of Teledyne FLIR Marine. “As the company that pioneered marine thermal vision, we’ve always challenged people to look beyond what’s visible with conventional low-light cameras. ‘Sea Differently’ captures that spirit perfectly by telling an authentic maritime story entirely through thermal imagery and showcasing the unique capability that has made FLIR the global leader in marine thermal technology.”

Running in the U.S. in September and October, with expansion into international markets, “Sea Differently” will appear across YouTube, social media and relevant industry channels. The campaign includes 12 assets spanning :60, :30 and :15 films, adapted across 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1 formats.

For Unruled, the campaign is an example of what can happen when a product’s strongest differentiator becomes the creative idea itself. Instead of simply telling audiences what makes FLIR thermal technology different, “Sea Differently” makes that difference impossible to miss, turning the brand’s technology into both the campaign’s creative constraint and its defining visual signature.

To learn more about the Teledyne FLIR Marine’s complete portfolio of maritime imaging solutions, visit marine.flir.com.

Client:  Teledyne FLIR

• Client Team:  Gordon Sprouse, Jim Hand, Andrea Knowles

• Campaign Title:   Sea Differently
• Agency: Unruled Outdoor Agency
• Chief Creative Officer:   Austin Scott
• Creative Director: Regan Kline
• Associate Creative Director(s):  Sunny Manning
• Art Director:   Kelli Woodell
• Copywriter:  Matt Barnett
• Account Service: Chad Isom
• Head of Production: Ben Cantrell
• Production Company & City: Unruled Outdoor Agency
• Director:  Regan Kline
• Producer (production co): Elizabeth Karner
• Director of Photography:  Ben Cantrell
• Camera Operator: Denton Adkinson
• Studio Director: Michelle Willis
• Post Production & City: Unruled Outdoor Agency
• Editor: Ben Cantrell

Source: Unruled Outdoor Agency

  Austin Scott, Ben Cantrell, Michelle Hildyard, Teledyne FLIR Marine, Unruled Outdoor Agency