Oct 7–12 · Case study

Anduril Fury

A fighter jet with no cockpit, sold to the people who grieve the pilot they think it replaces.

Start to finish
5 h
Launched
Mon 5:29pm
Posts read
11,496
Meetings
0
Film · Case study, 1:42

Narration, score and sound made with AI. Footage: U.S. Air Force, National Archives and Anduril. Gameplay from the live game.

What we heard

11,496 posts and comments · 7 platforms
  1. We've seen this movie1,369, the loudest
  2. Capability and specs
  3. Cost and taxpayer money
  4. Politics
  5. The race with China
  6. Built again in America
  7. Childhood games and awe
  8. Skeptics and hype doubters
  9. Ethics of killing machines
  10. The empty seat283, the deepest
  11. The wingman bond
  12. Peace through deterrence
  13. It takes the hit
  14. Money for war, not healthcare
  15. Family named in the cockpit

The movies were the loudest. The seat was the deepest. So that's where we went.

In their words

“not seeing the canopy and the pilot inside hurts me”

@f.sciar02 on Instagram, under Anduril's own first flight post. 283 people talked about the seat.

The insight

Fury was built to fly on a pilot's wing. Almost nobody knew that.

People see a jet with nobody in it and grieve the pilot they assume it removes. To them the cockpit is an heirloom, so an empty one reads as a missing person. But Fury flies on a pilot's wing and a person makes every weapons call.

The idea

Long live the pilot.

So the campaign takes the pilot's side, from the company building the drone. Fury stays alone in every frame, the way Anduril shows it, and every headline says what it doesn't need: ACE NOT INCLUDED. NO CALL SIGN REQUIRED. FIRST IN. NO MEDAL. The pilot is never named or shown. The reader fills the empty seat.

Key visual: Fury on a stand in a dark studio, no canopy and no cockpit. ACE NOT INCLUDED. Long live the pilot. Anduril Fury, fury.nonextsteps.com
Ace not included.

Fury image: Anduril

The spot

Film · Two, 0:15

Archival and modern footage: U.S. Air Force and National Archives. Fury footage: Anduril. The voice was made with AI; the footage wasn't. Music: End Game by Rymdklang Soundtracks.

Where it leads

TWO. A game where you fly the lead.

A flyable tower defense built off the film. You fly the lead. Your Furys fly on your wing or hold where you leave them, and your score unlocks more of them.

Play TWO.fury.nonextsteps.com

The work

10 pieces
Bulletin: three Furys parked on a concrete ramp beside the words NO CALL SIGN REQUIRED. Long live the pilot. Anduril Fury, fury.nonextsteps.com
Out-of-home · 14 × 48 ft bulletin

Fury image: Anduril

Motion poster: Fury on a stand in a dark studio, no cockpit. ACE NOT INCLUDED. Long live the pilot. Anduril Fury, fury.nonextsteps.com
Poster · 9:16 motion poster

Fury image: Anduril

Metro two-sheet: Fury climbing out at dusk, framed like a film still. WE'VE SEEN THE MOVIE TOO. Long live the pilot. Anduril Fury
Poster · Pentagon station two-sheet

Fury image: Anduril

Metro two-sheet: Fury taking off at golden hour in front of a hazy mountain. FIRST IN. NO MEDAL. Long live the pilot. Anduril Fury
Poster · Pentagon station two-sheet

Fury image: Anduril

The bulletin on a desert highway at sunset among Joshua trees: three Furys on the ramp and NO CALL SIGN REQUIRED.
Out-of-home · Outside Edwards

The highway is made with AI; the art isn't.

A tall digital screen in an airport concourse at dusk showing the motion poster: Fury alone and ACE NOT INCLUDED. Travelers walk past with their bags
Out-of-home · Las Vegas airport

The concourse is made with AI; the art isn't.

The two Metro posters on the vaulted wall of a station platform, WE'VE SEEN THE MOVIE TOO and FIRST IN. NO MEDAL, as two riders wait for a train
Out-of-home · Pentagon station

The platform is made with AI; the art isn't.

Flat layout of a 1:48 Fury model kit box: Anduril Fury across the top, Fury taking off at golden hour on the lid and ACE NOT INCLUDED where a kit would say pilot figure included
Ident · 1:48 model kit

Fury image: Anduril

How the week went

No regroups were held
  1. Wed

    Research

    Quiet

  2. Thu

    Research

    Quiet

  3. Fri

    Idea

    0.5 hours

    0.5 h research

  4. Sat

    Work

    1.5 hours

    0.5 h ideas, 0.5 h poster, 0.5 h out-of-home

  5. Sun

    Work

    1 hours

    1 h film

  6. Mon

    Ship

    2 hours

    Launched at 5:29pm. 1.5 h film, 0.5 h process improvements.

The footage

Archival and modern film is public domain. The modern airmen and their units haven't been asked yet, and Anduril hasn't okayed its images or footage. The voice and the three settings are made with AI. Spec work, not affiliated with or endorsed by Anduril Industries or the U.S. Air Force.