Press Release from Janimation
Dallas, TX (March 29, 2011) – In March of 2010, Janimation, Inc. was chosen to re-design the international brand standard for Mexico City based, Grupo Bimbo. The iconic Bimbo Bear came to life at the Dallas based production house with the loving hands of Animation Director, Greg Punchatz at the helm of the Janimation team. Once the international brand standard was adopted, Janimation was then chosen to bring the icon to 3D life in Bimbo Bakeries USA’s first national advertising campaign. The Janimation team worked with the talented creative team from Integer Group/Dallas and collaborated on the live action with director Jeff Bednarz of Dallas based Directorz.
Said live action director Bednarz, “It was a real pleasure to collaborate with the fine folks at Janimation to introduce Bimbo Bread to the United States market.” Janimation Creative Director, Greg Punchatz says “bringing the character we had just recently re-designed to animate in 3D was truly a pleasure. It’s great to see the re-designed international brand standard for Grupo Bimbo come to life in this spot.”
"Janimation was the hands-down choice to partner with us on this,” said Integer Creative Director/Writer, Molly McLaren. Creative Director/Art Director, Ann Pearson, added, “They were already deep into the history of the client and had been actively involved with them in bringing Bimbo Bear to life in the U.S. It made the process so much easier and, frankly, really fun.”
The Bimbo Bear “Lunchbox” :30 spot opens with a serene live action scene of a Mom in her sunlit kitchen preparing her son’s favorite sandwich for school while humming a catchy new tune. On the kitchen counter, a lunchbox with an embossed Bimbo Bear is revealed, which instantly transports us to the magical animated world of Bimbo Bear.
Tequila Mockingbird Music of Dallas provided the music for the spot. Tequila
Mockingbird’s Wally Williams commented, “The Bimbo song couldn't just be pulp. It had real work to do. Specifically the track had to introduce English speaking people to the correct pronunciation of Bimbo and to tell them how it's spelled. It was a smart marketing objective and ideal as a musical message. And, as usual, putting it to Janimation's visuals was the icing on the cake.”
The spot required a veteran team to manage the sheer size and detail level of Bimbo Bear's world. All of the animated environments required 3D geometry for every element right down to the blades of grass and the leaves on trees. When the commercial was completed and screened, Chief Creative Officer of Janimation, Steve Gaçonnier said, “All the effort really shows. I am so proud of the team here at Janimation. Our work on this project exceeded the already high bar set by our fine clients at Grupo Bimbo.”