Wild Brains multi-award-winning director Gordon Clark led a team of studio animators in the creation of the eight new comedic commercials for the Honda Element campaign, Element and Friends, conceived by ACD/art director Chuck Blackwell and copywriter Adam Lowrey at RPA. Each spot features the Honda Element in a comedic conversation with a new friend, including a goat, hamster, lobster, mole, penguin, pigeon, rat and turtle.
Returning due to popular demand, however, is the extremely popular character Gil the Crab first seen in spots airing in fall 2005. The crab again wants nothing more than to pinch his irresistible friend the Honda Element.
The vignettes take place in a variety of environments, ranging from city streets to the beach. To create the eight new spots, the team from Wild Brain animated and composited in After Effects using both stock and specifically shot photos.
Said Clark, This campaign was an exercise in dry, minimalist comedy and comic pauses. We had to abandon our usual animation instincts on these spots to maintain a look that intentionally wasnt too slick or polished. Instead, we were always striving to push the spontaneous and accidental feel of the spots.
Description of spots:* Goat The Honda Element and a goat discuss the rectangular nature of their design.* Hamster A hamster on an exercise wheel and the Honda Element complement each others wheels.* Lobster When a lobster befriends the Honda Element, Gil the Crab appears on the scene, ready to pinch.* Mole A cool-talking mole and the Honda Element hang out.* Penguin A French penguin and the Honda Element converse as differences in syntax provide humor.* Pigeon The Honda Element beat-boxes as a pigeon friend gets down to the beat.* Rat Honda Elements new friend rat admires the Elements dropped design and gets complimented on his new gold chain.* Turtle A speed-talking turtle and the Honda Element share a moment.
Founded in 1994, San Francisco-based Wild Brain Inc. (www.wildbrain.com) is an award-winning animation studio that develops and produces unique and compelling content across the media spectrum. Powered by its distinctive pool of talented animators and directors and renowned for blending traditional animation methods with state-of-the-art computer graphics, the studio and its artists have consistently won top industry awards.
In film, Wild Brain has garnered numerous awards including an Annie for its computer graphics short film, HUBERTS BRAIN, and currently has a number of film projects in development. In television, the studio has produced an exceptional slate of original animated work, including the top-rated and critically acclaimed series HIGGLYTOWN HEROES, airing daily on Disney Channel. One of the nations foremost producers of animated commercials, Wild Brain has won Clios, Addys, the BDA Awards and Annies for their commercial spots reinvigorating classic brands and developing cutting-edge spots for such leading companies as The Coca-Cola Company, Honda, Kraft and Nike. Wild Brain additionally creates and distributes collectible merchandise through its subsidiary Kidrobot, a premiere retailer of limited-edition art toys and apparel, with stores located in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
