This charming piece of animation takes us back in time, using unique illustrations to show us how the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 went down–with some artistic license of course. Part of the “Best Deals Ever Made” campaign for the Oregon Lottery, the spot shows a pint-sized Napoleon Bonaparte dismount his horse to offer Thomas Jefferson the opportunity to buy New Orleans for a mere $15 million.
Jefferson replies, “No Deal,” which gets Napoleon to raise the geographical ante–and himself up a ladder, so that he can show on a nearby wall map how much more land he’s willing to part with to make this a done deal.
As Napoleon stays at the $15 million asking price, he moves up the map to cover the State of Louisiana. He uses his mini-sword to strip away more territory from the map which then becomes part of the U.S.. Jefferson isn’t interested, again uttering “No Deal.” This process repeats itself yet again but the time after that proves to be the charm has Napoleon has cut away a huge swath extending from the Mississippi River to the Rockies. At that point, the shrewd Jefferson says, “Deal,” at the original price of $15 million.
A voiceover intervenes, “Some deals are worth making–like the “Deal or No Deal” scratch-off for the Oregon Lottery, as we see an animated rendition of that lotto game.
Agency Borders Perrin Norrander (BPN), Portland, Ore., recruited local area painter Evan B. Harris, an illustrator at Portland-based animation studio LAIKA/house, to create his illustrative interpretation for the two spots (the other featuring the U.S. purchase of Alaska) in the Oregon Lottery campaign. Both commercials were directed by LAIKA/house’s Aaron Sorenson.
All characters and backgrounds were hand drawn and painted by Harris, scanned into a digital format and then animated by LAIKA/house’s Wendy Fuller using Maya software. Figures from history such as Napoleon and Jefferson were charmingly detailed, adding to the tongue-in-cheek humor of the spots.
“Using animation helped us bring an interactive imagination to the process, unlike live action,” said BPN art director Jeremy Boland.
The spots are enhanced by fine comedic touches. For example, the stubby Napoleon loses his hat when his first offer is rejected by Jefferson. Even Napoleon’s heavily accented voice has a special LAIKA/house influence–it’s an impression by the studios CG manager Roland Gauthier who is fluent in French.
Boland was part of an agency creative ensemble that also included creative director Terry Schneider, copywriter Eric Terchila and producer Scott Fox.
Michelle Satter To Be Honored At Sundance Film Festival Gala
The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced details for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s gala fundraiser, Celebrating Sundance Institute, which will take place on Friday, January 24, 2025 at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Utah. The event will be an evening in celebration of Michelle Satter, founding sr. director of artist programs at Sundance Institute, for her longstanding commitment to nurturing artists and cultivating independent film through the Sundance Labs, where visionary artists convene to develop groundbreaking projects through an in-depth creative process, for the past four decades. The annual Vanguard Awards will be presented during the evening to Sean Wang, writer and director of Dìdi, and Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, co-directors of Sugarcane, who premiered their films at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
The annual gala enables the nonprofit to raise funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants, and public programming that nurture artists from all over the world. The 2025 event is made possible with the generous support of Google TV. The Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online from January 30–February 2, 2025 for audiences across the country to discover bold independent storytelling.
“For over four decades Michelle has been devoted to truly championing independent storytellers,” said Amanda Kelso, acting CEO of Sundance Institute. “She has encouraged artists to own their voice, learn their craft, become fierce leaders, and develop their resilience in our changing ecosystem. Her life-long commitment to supporting artists, especially in underrepresented... Read More