CR Blog
Müller's new Wünderful Stuff spot
Posted by Gavin Lucas, 7 October 2011, 15:40 Permalink Comments (27)
TBWALondon, will tomorrow launch a £20million intergrated campaign for Yogurt brand Müller by screening a new 90 second ad during the X Factor show on ITV. Directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet through Partizan Lab, the spot, Wünderful Stuff, stars the unlikely combination of Yogi Bear, Muttley from Wacky Races, a selection of Mister Men, and KITT, the car from Knight Rider...
That's right, no more Nina Simone telling us repeatedly she's got her arms, hands, legs etc (thankfully). And no more breathy voice overs from Joanna Lumley or shots of girls on swings in pastoral settings etiher.
TBWALondon's new campaign plays on the idea of stirring something wonderful into something mundane (a la the experience of stirring fruity compote or chocolate flakes into plain yogurt). And so it has come to pass that a host of well-loved TV characters, along with some new animated friends, inject a fruity dose of fun to a street full of commuters and office workers. Without further ado - here's the new spot:
The ad is undoubtedly a big production with the various 2D characters (Yogi Bear, Muttley, the Mister Men et al) all animated using traditional hand drawn cell techniques in order to stay true to their roots. No small amount of special effects, 3D modelling and digital animation has been done by The Mill too.
We've had a sneak preview of the inevitable making-of film, although it is work in progress at the moment. Instead of the usual talking heads explaining how brilliantly creative they all are, it simply details how many of the shots were created using a host of techniques. As soon as we can, we'll share it with you.
Wünderful Stuff credits:
Agency TBWALondon
Executive creative director Andre Laurentino
Creative directors Mike Nicholson and Paul Pateman
Agency producer Jason Ayers
Production company Partizan Lab
Director Antoine Bardou-Jacquet
DoP Glynn Speekaert
Animation director Mustashrik Mahbub
Production company producers David Stewart, Isabella Paris, Henry Schofield
Editor Bill Smedly @ Work Post
Post production The Mill
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27 Comments
If only we could smack the bankers like in the commercial, and make them into cartoon characters, the economy would be a better state then it is now.
Nice Concept..
2011-10-07 16:03:28
As the poet said, 'Cream!..Such a beautiful thing'.
.::a:.
2011-10-07 21:10:11
Love the all out approach...cant but think where they go next however
2011-10-08 20:54:40
Such a mess.
2011-10-10 08:04:42
This is a well thought out advertisment that could prove succesful in grabbing the attention of audience members of any age. Older generations can relate to the 80's/90's cartoon characters giving them a sense of nostalgia, whilst younger children will be immediatley drawn to the animated/brightly coloured characters.
This is definatley and all singing, all dancing advertisment and a step in a new direction for Muller, but it should be expected with a £20million price tag.
2011-10-10 09:06:14
I don't see a concept to be honest. It appears they're doing something silly just for the sake of it. Reminds me of the Honda engine ad from a while ago also. I'm not sure about it.
2011-10-10 10:09:24
Hmmm, it's artistically interesting but whether it will sell any more of their product and how is possibly even more interesting!
2011-10-10 12:24:12
Terrible, how many disconnected retro references can you crowbar into a 30 second advert!
2011-10-10 12:57:34
What tosh.
Totally didn't get the concept at all nor did the random characters add anything to it.
Also not another bloody advert with a rainbow in it.
2011-10-10 13:24:19
I agree with a lot of the comments already made - I don't really get it. It seems that they are purely riding on the popularity and nostalgia of the old tv/cartoon characters without any real ad 'concept'.
2011-10-10 17:32:24
Honestly, I don't get the concept either? For me it would have been better to stick with just one of the groups or alternatively put a load more characters in to make the randomness work better. Knight Rider, Mr Men, Yogi and Mutley is just a bit odd in my opinion.
But hey if I ever get £20mil to make a campaign feel free to criticise it too ;)
2011-10-10 22:45:36
The combination of video and animation and the mature+childish definitely worked for me! It's hard not to pay attention and the production quality here is spot-on. A Roger Rabbit come-back.
2011-10-11 00:22:16
loada rubbish!! waste of money! would have been better just putting up a photo of yoghurt pot and giving the money to worthwhile charities. think of the research that could have been done looking for cancer cures! instead a mishmash of garbage without meaning or concept! get a grip!!!
2011-10-11 14:05:51
I get the concept when I read your explanation of it; but when I saw the ad I just thought it was a budget draining exercise, licensing anything they could get their hands on.
Didn't do much for me, thought it was a bit OTT without being particularly impressive.
Although I did also hate their old ads, I'd actually guess they'd of had a greater impact on sales as they were target driven and had reasonable context - this is a bit more like one of those Cadbury's ads I also don't like or get.
2011-10-11 14:16:14
Sadly I, er, grew up with most of the characters. Which makes it even more strange that I have almost zero emotional connection with this ad. Plus I don't like yoghurt.
2011-10-11 14:20:42
No sorry - it's trying too hard. The trend for over-the-top commercials to sell day-to-day products and services is becoming irksome.
2011-10-11 14:23:09
I think Yeo Valley's adverts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOHAUvbuV4o) are more impressive and capturing, either way it's a good effort by both
2011-10-11 14:29:32
yep great enjoyed it. I've actually filmed in the Muller dairy so a lot of recognizable faces... What's next squiddly diddly, penelope from wacky races, can't wait...
2011-10-11 14:37:48
my angry tweet from sunday after spending a man flu weekend on the sofa and having to look at this car crash of a spend every ad break "Seriously get this new muller yogurt ad away from me before i smash my telly..how much on media..?
This is a frankly gross and saddening co-opting of our pop culture on steroids...or on £20m worth of ego massaging formed late at night in a 'creative epiphany'...an utter waste...it actually makes me like muller way less if you think about what this cost"...it makes me lose the will to live.
2011-10-11 14:53:24
o look müller actually did something
2011-10-11 18:13:09
The last refuge of a creative - throws some 80s nostalgia at a brief and a shed load of cash.
Who cares if it works - look! There's KITT from Knight Rider! (whose sister is know working for Apple inside the new 4s incidentally).
2011-10-12 14:31:01
no concept at all, the nostagia shows to me only the age group of the people who made it wishing they were kids again, the advertisng agency have raped their client and are laughing at muller.
This is truely awlful advert and I can't understand how it cost so much to make? I could (over a longer period because its only me) make that for 1% of what they charged. and I would have the decency to come up with my own characters rather than using someone else's
2011-10-13 13:27:52
It stars famous 2D characters such as Yogi Bear, Muttley and the Mister Men, and opens with KITT getting a ticket. That will not do, says the Müller bot who attacks and transforms the parking attendent. This is very odd, but a million times better than hearing that Nina Simone song abut arms and legs again. Mmm. I'm kinda hungry for yogurt now, but afraid I might turn into Betty Boop. the video
2011-10-13 17:52:55
is it just me, or was the cloud bit with the skyscraper at the end suspiciously reminiscent of that bit in Ghostbusters 2? And did the house that was about to get wreckingballed remind anyone else of a Dido video? Anyone else spot and more oblique references? (but yes. more urge to go drink OJ than eat yoghurt right now! XD)
2011-10-13 21:06:48
Another ad that feels if it's wacky enough, it will work! Awful concept and how much?! :O
2011-10-20 11:47:56
The most prominent characters....
Mister Men - alliteration of M there.......Muller
Mutley.............Muller
Yogi.....................Yoghurt
No coincidence there, but just under the radar enough to mostly go unobserved.
Took me having a *smoke* to spot it.
2011-11-05 00:55:23
Charlie Serra
2011-11-14 15:00:18
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