Minneapolis, Minn. - Most people associate champagne with celebration. This year, Korbel California premium champagne took the iconic New Year's beverage to new heights in a series of video banner ads that invite the viewer to imagine "what your Korbel will become."
The ads entice viewers to imagine two champagne cocktail treats -- the Korbel Blue Hawaiian and The Korbel Royale. Both appeared above the crowds on the Times Square Jumbotron and the ABC SuperSign and online as Web banners.
The project is a result of collaboration between Carmichael Lynch and Gasket Studios. For a brand that has been "turning moments into memories since 1882," the agency (Carmichael Lynch) wanted to evoke imagery that had year-round appeal while still appropriate for New Year reveling.
Having worked with animation production company Gasket on an integrated campaign for A.G. Edwards, Carmichael Lynch turned to animation again to realize the concept. Gasket wanted to create a "visual taste" -- what a Korbel Blue Hawaiian tastes like in animation, evoking all those relaxing tropical experiences. They knew the final animation product would lend itself to other media beyond Web banners. So Gasket went to work pouring creative and layering into the spots so they would leap off the screen. The concepts were creatively pushed beyond expected standards for a Web campaign. Once Korbel and Carmichael Lynch saw the result, they wanted more. The ABC SuperSign & JumboTron were the next perfect incarnations of the campaign.
Blue Hawaiian was created using a combination of hand-drawn pencil animations; live-action ink bleeds in liquid; 3D turtles, dolphins, asting ray; and water created with Autodesk Maya. The elements were then composited and animated further via Autodesk Flame.
Royale is a marriage of live-action people, a 3D limo, cup, and bubbles designed and executed with Autodesk Maya. Keying was done with Autodesk Flame and the frame-by-frame hand animation and compositing was completed in Adobe After Effects.
"One of the most exciting aspects of this project was that it required a lot of R&D, on the fly, to create Web ads that had an incredible amount of depth and an intensive amount of integrated elements," says Gasket Studios founder Greg Shultz. "Fluidity, fun, Americana, and nostalgia are mixed with a very current aesthetic -- the very essence of the Korbel champagne cocktails."
Client: Korbel
Spot titles/Length: 15 sec Web Banners Times Square JumboTron and ABC SuperSign "Blue Hawaiian" & "Royale"
Jumbotron Launch: December 15
Web launch: December
Advertising Agency: Carmichael Lynch/Minneapolis
ECD: Tim Brunelle
AD: Bill Lee
CW: Ryan Inda
Developer: Marc Bloomquist
Interactive Producer: Paul Aaron
Animation/Visual Effects Company: Gasket Studios
Designer/VFX Director: Greg Shultz
Animators: Justin Greiner, Dan Helgemoe, Matt Sattler
Producer: Tammy Kimbler Weber