(Venice, California--May 7, 2008) Blur Studio channeled their inner disco in a new commercial for Pringles Stix via advertising agency Grey New York. The spot features a lively dance number performed by digital characters, in an entirely CG environment evoking the sparkly discos of the 1970s.
The spot broke on April 28th, 2008, with :30 and :15 second versions airing in the US and later in the year will air in Canada.
Grey New York tapped Blur for its award winning character animation and ability to breathe life into whimsical animated sequences. "We have been a big fan of Blur's work across commercials, games and films over the years. What grabbed our interest for this project was their meticulous attention to character, especially since we were building on an established icon such as Mr. Pringles. They took the project head on and delivered a spot that speaks to the feel-good energy that is associated with the Pringles brand. Not only was it a pleasure to working with the collaborative staff at Blur, but they took the spot to the next level and beyond."
The spot opens to reveal a stylized dance floor as a figure with the face of Mr. Pringles and a body made up of new Pringles Stix slides in on his knees. An updated cover of Earth Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland" plays in the background as a deep voice describes Pringles' new crispy cracker sticks. Mr. Pringles is then joined by a female counterpart, and they enter into an energized dance routine for two. The duo looks up towards the ceiling as an elaborate disco ball made up of Pringles Stix disassembles into the individual snack packets as the closing VO booms, "everything pops with Pringles."
This project is one in a flurry of animated commercial spots recently completed by Blur for brands including Pennzoil, Eureka and Danimals Yogurt. Grey New York came to Blur to bring a new character to life that combined the new Pringles Stix product with the beloved Mr. Pringles. The concept, dance moves, music and look of the spot were inspired by the 1970s, but were infused with a modern look and bright color palette.
"Working with Grey New York on this project was such a pleasure; they were very collaborative partners and were open to pushing the creative further as the character designs progressed," explained Norn Jordan, Director, Blur Studio. "It was important to nail the proportions and textures of these characters to introduce these new crispy cracker sticks to the market. But their real fun came in establishing their personality through subtle facial animations and groovy dance moves."
Blur initially developed an animatic of the spot concept, defining the layout and style frames. A team of five animators spent a total of two months completing the commercial using a toolset that included Softimage XSI for all of the character animation, Maxon's Cinema 4D for the disco ball, with all scene assembly, environments and rendering completed in Autodesk's 3ds Max. The spot was composited in Adobe's After Effects.
About Blur
Blur Studio is an Oscar and Emmy nominated production studio based in Venice, California. Founded in 1995, the company provides award-winning animation, effects and design for a wide range of media short films, large format films, commercials, concept art, feature effects, music videos, game cinematics and broadcast design. Notable clients include ABC, Disney, Universal Pictures, CBS, Microsoft, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Sega, Activision, Nickelodeon, FOX Sports, and THQ, among others. For more information, please visit
http://www.blur.com
Project Credits
Client: P&G - Pringles
Airdate: 4/28/08
Advertising Agency: Grey New York
Creative Director: Rob Baiocco
Art Directors: Gigi Khemlani & Greg Nance
Copywriter: Ben Huser
Producer: Todd Scheifele
Production Company: Blur Studio
Director: Norn Jordan
CG Supervisor: Adam Swaab
Executive Producer: Jennifer Miller
Producer: Beth Elder
Character Animation: Jeff Fowler
Animation: Colin James, Chris Kelley, Bryan Hillestad
Modeling: Alessandro Baldasseroni
Rigging: Enoch Ihde, Ben Durkin
Live Action DP: Tom Camarda
Music Production Company: Pulse Music
Composer: Dan Kuby
Mixing: Vision Post
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