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Director Michael Bay is reportedly suing Fishers-based Cadillac F1 and CEO Dan Towriss, alleging they “stole” his ideas for the team’s television ad that aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday night.
According to a report by The Athletic, part of The New York Times, the director known for his involvement in action hits such as “Armageddon” and the “Transformers” series is suing Cadillac F1 and CEO Dan Towriss for fraud and breach of contract.
The lawsuit was filed in a Los Angeles court on Friday, according to The Athletic, which reviewed a copy of the complaint. IBJ has not independently obtained a copy of the lawsuit.
Bay claims he was contacted by the team in November 2025 to produce and direct the commercial and had several creative meetings with leaders there, including Towriss, in which he discussed specific ideas and eventually pitched a concept, according to The Athletic. However, on Dec. 6, Bay claims he was informed Cadillac F1 would “go in a different direction” and hire someone else to produce the commercial.
In a statement shared with IBJ on Sunday night, the company said representatives had met with Bay about directing the ad, “but after two meetings, it became clear he couldn’t meet our timeline, and there ultimately wasn’t a path forward.”
“It’s unclear why he’s bringing this claim, since the concept and creative were already developed and we were only exploring him as a director,” the statement reads. “It’s also unusual to raise this now, given the ad hasn’t even been released. We’re confident this will be resolved appropriately. Even so, we still admire Michael Bay’s creative brilliance and would welcome the opportunity to work together in the future.”
Cadillac F1, which seeks to establish its brand as an all-American team, chose to make a Super Bowl ad because “there’s this underdog status as an American brand that is just joining Formula One but doing it from a standing start, going up against European rivals that have been honing their craft for decades,” Towriss told Bloomberg at the time.
Towriss declined to tell Bloomberg how much Cadillac F1 spent on the ad, but said it was “typical” of a Super Bowl ad spend. The average cost for a 30-second Super Bowl ad this year is $8 million, according to AdWeek.
In his lawsuit, Bay claims he expressed concerns regarding “direct client to director [communications]” during a Nov. 28, 2025, meeting with Towriss, saying that “they try to pick my brain and give these ideas to younger cheaper commercial directors,” according to The Athletic. Towriss, Bay alleges, responded by saying “well, I’m paying for this Super Bowl commercial so Cadillac and I are in charge.”
He then alleges Towriss contacted Translation, an advertising agency, and that the company followed up by sending Bay a “personalized presentation for the commercial,” referencing specific ideas Bay and Towriss discussed in their previous meetings. A day later, Bay claims he showed the ad agency clips of his films as examples of what could be done with the ad, including “specific shimmering visuals, planets with suns, and desert landscapes,” according to The Athletic.
The production timeline, according to the complaint, was quick: the commercial would need to be ready by Feb. 8 and required NFL approval before it could air. The proposed budget was $3 million, according to The Athletic.
On Dec. 5, Bay claims he sent Cadillac F1 a mock commercial, but was told the following day that the organization intended to work with someone else on the commercial.
Bay is reportedly seeking damages of more than $1.5 million.
Bloomberg News contributed.
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