The Napoleon Group, the leading previz, commercial test and digital content company, returned to the Super Bowl in 2014 with a cinematic for a Labatt Blue commercial that aired during Super Bowl XLVIII.
The cinematic was commissioned by New York agency Ammirati, which provided the creative. Ammirati’s goal was to “completely rebrand ‘the world’s best-selling Canadian beer’ for the U.S. market,” to take “Labatt’s most valued asset, The Bear, and turn him into the ultimate expression of our inner beast.”
To that end, both the cinematic and the commercial feature Labatt’s ursine mascot snowboarding down an alpine slope accompanied by the moombaton-meets-trap-music beats, sub-base and sirens of “Masta Blasta (The Rebirth)” by EDM artist Dillon Francis.
“The Napoleon team was excited about the Labatt snowboarding bear from the first sample we built to win the work,” says Creative Director Matt Gendron. “We knew that this concept was a winner, and our cinematic helped turn the idea into a Super Bowl-caliber ad. We sculpted our bear in 3D to maximize the dynamic action of the snowboard scenes. Napoleon’s team of artists worked seamlessly with the agency creatives, and we totally killed it. Our snowboarding bear is badass.”
In fact, the cinematic so brilliantly expressed the creative that Ammirati requested Napoleon editor Nathan Scholtens edit the final broadcast spot.
"Working with the team at Napoleon was such a pleasure,” says Ammirati Group Creative Director Rory Braunstein. “From concept to edit to audio, their attention to detail is top-notch. I'm already looking forward to our next collaboration.”
View the commercial here.
The Napoleon Group
Art. Craft. Ingenuity. Those are the deliverables that distinguish The Napoleon Group and the reasons creative thinkers and innovative brands trust us to instill impact and performance in their previsualization and test advertising.
Drawing on an evolving portfolio of specialized services and styles—animatics, cinematics, live production, art, audio, 3D VFX/motion graphics—Napoleon fashions captivating experiences that spark consumer curiosity, inspire brand loyalty and fuel product sales. In short, we provide deeper consumer insights and consistently higher test scores by creating customized content that connects, compels and converts.
Founded in 1985, The Napoleon Group is a full-service previz and post-production company with a legacy of unrivaled authority and an eye firmly focused on the future. Seizing an opportunity for growth and expansion in 2013, Napoleon moved to New York's nexus of creativity and technology, the vibrant Flatiron District, and created a dream studio—a one-of-a-kind, more than 14,000-square-foot contemporary office and facility on two floors that's perfectly suited to the changing nature of the advertising business.
The new project-centric space features a 12-camera Vicon Bonita motion-capture system, a spacious green-screen stage and custom-built edit and audio suites that combine comfort with a stylish efficiency, all seamlessly tied together with state-of-the-art infrastructure. The studio boasts an open-air workspace for 40-plus animators, editors, designers, illustrators, modelers, compositors, scripters, character artists, motion-graphics artists, producers and creative directors that facilitates creative synergy among staff and clients alike and inspires our savvy storytellers to greater heights.
For industry-leading talent, a collaborative culture and a facility designed to exhilarate, agencies seeking a truly creative partnership know where to turn: The Napoleon Group.
www.napny.com
