Shellfish! Ferrari and Shell close down major cities to film commercial

Shell Oil, those guys who are getting richer while we all get poorer at the gas pumps, are aiming to break the record for the most expensive advertisement, and the Super Bowl doesn't even factor into it. The fossil-fuels giant is a long-time sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari, and pours millions into the F1 team each year so that enthusiasts and consumers will associate its fuels – Shell V-Power high-performance gasoline, specifically – with Ferrari's racing success. But just to drive the point home even further, Shell is spending close to ???2 million to produce a television commercial.

Wondering how you could possibly spend that kind of cash on a TV ad? No big name endorsements; that's already taken care of. No elaborate sets or costly special effects; you don't need that when you've got a 700-horsepower F1 car at your disposal. The commercial is anticipated to feature an F1 race car speeding around the corners and down the streets of New York, London and Sydney. And we'll bet it's not going to be at five in the morning, either. Closing down big city streets in the middle of the day costs big, and Shell is spending big.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]