27 Comments

Might have been better if they'd spent some of that time and effort coming up with an actual idea.
Mark Astle
2011-11-01 11:27:47

Exceptionally well made dross.
Matt
2011-11-01 13:40:54

Wow, a lot of awesome work went into this.
Deciding to craft yogi and co using handdrawn frames is a really nice touch.

@Mark — There's definitely an idea in there, I'd say their only crime (if ambition is a crime) is doing too much with it in the short amount of time a commercial runs for.
Karl
2011-11-01 13:52:09

Mark and Matt.



I don't know how to break this to you, but looking at both of your portfolios [deleted by moderator], i don't think you're best placed to throw stones in this particular glass house.



maybe you should get back to concentrating on being bitter/angry about your own 'lack of ideas' and 'poorly made dross'.



GOUT-LEGS
2011-11-01 14:17:00

The making of was certainly more interesting than the ad itself. Just out of interest how much money was spent creating it?
Paul
2011-11-01 14:26:40

There's a hell of a lot of technical brilliance in this ad!
Justine
2011-11-01 14:54:34

So what is the idea? Anyone?
Joe
2011-11-01 17:19:56

sweet! ;-)
akrokdesign
2011-11-01 17:41:22

A rather petty, childish response to criticism there @GOUT-LEGS
Did you work on it? Well done if so, the exceptional execution in the 'making of video' above is undeniable, some real talent there. However, watching the actual ad the other night I'm inclined to agree with Mark. It does seem to be conceptually rather simplistic and vacuous IMHO and a bit erm, crap for want of a better word. It is like they have just chucked a load of disparate entertainment brands together in a poorly conceived narrative and hoped some semblance of convincing ad emerges. I have watched it several times, with different people, and the general reaction was "WHAT?!" followed by head scratching. I don't believe this was the desired result.
baz
2011-11-01 17:54:01

looks like its advertising the post production capabilities more than the brand, wonder what's the message about?? converting the working class people to enjoy "wunderful" stuff after work .... i'll have a pint anytime over a yoghurt... great and near perfect execution (looks more like a PIXAR ad), idea and strategy ... confusing and questionable.
Chiat
2011-11-02 00:06:53

@Matt @Joe Completely agree. Execution is fantastic, but what is the concept?
David
2011-11-02 08:42:23

Jesus Gout Legs, chill out!

My opinion is that this is technically brilliant moving image, but no amount of brilliant animation and compositing can make up for the over-indulgence of meaningless nostalgic references.

The fact that I'm not a creative director at TBWA is abundantly clear from my portfolio, I'm comfortable with that—that's why I used my real name and included a link to my work—does it make me any less qualified to comment?
Matt
2011-11-02 09:22:49

I think the idea is that Muller makes boring stuff more fun so the ad is like a product analogy. I reckon that's right. It's an ad for yoghurt so it can't be much deeper than that!
Don
2011-11-02 15:40:46

Mark Astle-
MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!!!

All they did was throw well known characters at the brand there is no rational or idea behind the advert, lazy.
Well made but lazy.
Scott Neilson
2011-11-02 16:08:42

I think the idea is that Muller makes boring stuff more fun so the ad is like a product analogy. I reckon that's right. It's an ad for yoghurt so it can't be much deeper than that!
Don
2011-11-02 16:15:45

This is gonna sound mean but it's all well and good spending loads of time producing it, getting the top people in their field to animate the characters, build amazing scenes etc, but the finished product is terrible. I've seen it a dozen times on the telly and still have no idea what it's about and why it was made. Empty filler between the programmes. Why spend all the money getting licences for Mr Men, Yogi Bear, Kitt, etc. and not use them to do anything?

Sad.
Dave
2011-11-02 17:15:30

This is a lot like somebody farting in your face and then explaining in great detail exactly how that fart was conjured, packaged and delivered. The Muller advertisement is terrible. Blank, misguided and despite all the intellectual property thrown at it, joyless. It actively denigrates some good IP. If you work in post production then this is what you have to do at times, but you really don't need to then tell everyone.
The good news is that from here the only way is up.
Monique
2011-11-03 09:43:45

PS: Much more interesting would be 'why it was made', not 'how it was made'.
Monique
2011-11-03 09:49:40

Nice interesting video, I agree with Don's idea about yoghurt being a boring product and the advert is intended to make boring stuff more fun.
Alex
2011-11-03 10:12:45

What is it doing for product sales? Anything else is irrelevant. Personally I like the advert; why does everything have to have an 'idea' beyond being entertaining to the target audience. If it makes people smile and tell their friends I'd say it's doing its job.
Pete
2011-11-03 12:38:22

I wonder what Ken Garland would think!!

beautiful ad but wasted on a bleeding yogurt...
Michael
2011-11-03 13:08:54

I am always fascinated by behind-the-scenes videos like this, as it just goes to show how much effort goes into it, including all the elements of visual effects and animation that this popular TV advert has displayed.
Andy Norton
2011-11-03 14:19:03

I enjoyed this,

but why is it that the people who are actually doing the work so rarely get credited.
The agency assistant producer gets a credit, but none of the animators except the lead.... as if their work is somehow worth less. Unfortunately this happens all the time everywhere.
Jens
2011-11-03 15:42:09

Clearly a huge amount of effort went into what is possibly the most indulgent, lazy, ill-conceived and joyless campaign I have seen in my adult life.
Nelson
2011-11-03 21:31:06

I think you are all being very mean to TBWALondon. This is clearly one ad agency's brave attempt to counter the coalition government's disastrous economic policies. As Keynes said, "...it is better to pay animators to dig a hole in the ground..." or something like that.
Mario
2011-11-04 14:49:15

Hmmm, some interesting comments. Perhaps this is Mullers first ad to introduce the consumer to a new series of character driven ads that are trying to say we put the fun into something boring such as yoghurt
Kristianjeffrey
2011-11-07 16:26:03

Someone questioned whether it was really necessary for there to be a strong idea for an ad to be effective and I tend to agree. Some of the most successful ads only worked because they so bloody irritating not because they had a great concept. There is no doubt this ad almost certainly cost a lot of money and I was also kind of confused when I saw it for the first time. However, it did make me smile to see some of the old characters I loved as a kid and I did find myself trying to identify any I had missed upon the second viewing. The fact we are all talking about it says quite a lot and I am sure Muller will achieve it's required ROI target and now has practically every character ever created associated with it's brand. That can't be bad when your products are pretty popular with kids. Ultimately, regardless of what we think of the ad, I always enjoy seeing talented people do what they do best and the making of vid makes up for any short fall on the actual ad. As someone mentioned, I am sure we will see some cartoon character endorsed yog prods in the Muller range in the near future.
Superfried
2011-11-10 18:51:01

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