How does one recreate the magic, carefree days of childhood, when imagination flowed freely and anything was possible? That’s the question a creative team at FCB New York pondered when given the task of creating a new ad campaign for Jell-O, which marks a totally different direction for the product.
The FCB team’s solution involved a multinational cast of production artisans who helped craft the :30 "Magic Butterfly," which was directed by Jean-Pierre Roux through his U.S. production roost, Original Film, Los Angeles. Signed to Paris-based production shop PAC in France, Roux joined the Original family when his previous U.S. affiliate shop, New York Office, formed a strategic alliance with Original last summer (SHOOT, 6/9/00, p. 7).
In addition to Roux (who also helmed the campaign’s two additional spots—the :30 "Skater" and the :15 "Lantern"), the French contingent on "Magic Butterfly" included DP Alex LeMargue, production designer Jan Houllevigue, editor Nicholas Fay of Paris-based Le Post Prod, composer/sound designer Michel Hardy of Paris-based Realisation, and a team of artists at Paris-based effects/animation house MacGuff Ligne. The spot was shot in Sydney, Australia, with the support of Sydney-based production services company Baby Lemonade. Australian Sam McGarry and Brit Richard Skepper served as line producers. Jean-Clement Soret of Moving Picture Company, London, served as colorist.
Key to the spot’s concept is its emphasis on the inherent joys and pleasures of the Kraft Foods gelatin dessert—its bright colors, unique texture and wiggle/jiggle fun factor. The elements serve to help craft a whimsical fairy tale—narrated in voiceover by Angela Lansbury—that is part Alice in Wonderland and part Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
The ad opens on a fantasy-like meadow setting. The lush greenery surrounds a pond, the edge of which is abutted by multi-colored "rocks" of Jell-O. A pretty young girl wearing a pink dress and carrying a beribboned straw hat walks and skips through the tall grass. Cut to an overhead POV that glimpses a nest in a tree, containing Jell-O eggs.
"Do you have a secret wish …" Lansbury’s voice intones, as the girl looks up at the tree in wonderment, to spy an orange Jell-O butterfly fluttering about. She gleefully tries to capture the butterfly, swiping at it with her hat, as the VO continues, "… to capture things most jiggle-ish?"
The girl gently stoops down, offering her hand for the butterfly to land on, but is surprised when the creature flies into her mouth. Opening her mouth delights her even more, as a flurry of red, blue, orange, green and yellow butterflies emerges. The narration continues: " … Wondrous new experiments, grand creations made to squish," as the girl jumps up and attempts to catch the butterflies with her hands.
Finally, she is shown reflected in the pond’s surface. As the camera pans up, a rosy-hued bubble emerges from the water, revealing one of the spot’s most fantastic images: the girl herself seemingly contained within the translucent globe. "There’s magic here, or so I’m told …" the VO observes. The mesmerized girl looks out from her bubble as it ascends higher into the sky. With a pop, the bubble suddenly bursts, sending her joyously falling in slo-mo back to earth, where she bounces on a gelatinous oversized lily pad. "… Jell-O always breaks the mold," the narration concludes. "Jell-O gelatin. Make some magic."
FCB copywriter Scott Rosenblit and art director Miguel Nogueras said that the client, after using actor Bill Cosby as spokesperson for the last 25 years, wanted a new approach. In devising the idea, the creatives said, they wanted to get back to square one with an execution reflecting Jell-O’s iconic status. Nogueras observed, "Jell-O is a very recognizable [part of] American culture … it’s something that always reminds you of being a kid when you’re an adult, and makes you feel good you’re a kid when you’re are a kid. That’s something we really embraced as a concept. How do we create something that makes you, as an adult, feel like you’re a child?" Added Rosenblit, "The buzzword for us was ‘joy,’ which was part of the strategy."
The team hit upon Roux after FCB producer Paddy Giordano saw the director’s reel—in particular, a charming French Evian spot called "Babies," out of Euro RSCG, Paris, that depicts dozens of infants performing a synchronized aquatic ballet; the ad won a Cannes Bronze Lion in 1999. "[‘Babies’] was the perfect match of humanity and invisible technology, that leaves you with a smile and a joyful feeling," stated Rosenblit.
Roux’s initial conversation with the creatives clinched the deal, particularly when he related his idea to shoot live action, whenever possible. To that end, Roux—rather than going with a CG approach—commissioned the construction of a huge set within a 250×180 ft. stage at Sydney-based Fox Studios.
Houllevigue—who like Roux is repped stateside as a director by Original Film—played a key role in carrying out Roux’s vision. Houllevigue’s set piece of rolling green fields was constructed of raised platforms overlaid with real grass. Original co-executive producer Eriks Krumins noted that Australia was one of the few places that could provide natural greenery at that time of year, as well as accommodate a set of such enormous size.
Original Film founder/executive producer Bruce Mellon said that Roux spent a lot of time poring through art books looking for paintings for reference material. Using some paintings as templates, Roux proceeded to customize them via such software programs as Photoshop. Roux also took pains in casting the right child, getting a girl who not only could act but who also could dance, and thus would be able to move gracefully through the field. Additionally, the team had only five weeks between the time the job was awarded—right before Christmas—and the first shoot day, according to Mellon.
It was a fairly long animation process—in part, the creatives related, because making realistic-looking CG Jell-O was time consuming. "One funny thing was that [French people] don’t know what Jell-O is," explained Rosenblit. "They call it ‘jelly.’ It was a bit of a communication gap, but it was bridged as soon as we all met and made the product for them."
Additional FCB credits go to executive creative director Rich Russo and chief creative directors Sandy Greenberg and Terri Meyer. Credits at MacGuff Ligne go to Ron Soodalter of Ron Soodalter Associates International, New York, who served as executive producer/New York; Niko Trout, executive producer/Paris; and Philippe Sonrier, partner/senior visual effects supervisor.
