How do you get young people to use a messenger service that helps them stay in touch with their friends? Microsoft is using Zoltar, an animated fortune teller, who issues predictions about the fate of friends, encouraging visitors to his Website to stay in touch with them.
Talesofzoltar.com, the site prepared by AKQA/San Francisco, is being used to promote Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger service. AKQA worked with Hornet, the animation studio in New York, to create three Webisodes that feature skits in which Zoltar enters the scene screaming, “Silence,” before telling a fortune and issuing a command that concludes with, “Don’t be a fool, stay in touch.” “Sorry, Zoltar,” the kids reply.
The teen-oriented Webisodes are called “Jersey Shore”, “Summer of Fast Food” and “Senior Prom”.
After visitors watch a Websiode, they are encouraged to enter the name of a friend and Zoltar will reply with a prediction for the friend’s future. Visitors can send the message to the friend and download Windows Live Messenger.
“Teens have a big problem losing touch with friends, and Windows Live Messenger is a tool they can use to stay in touch with them,” said PJ Pereira, the executive creative director at AKQA. “Zoltar is the fortune teller who tells friends’ futures so you know which ones to stay in touch with. Microsoft is a heavy tech driven company but they wanted to be light about it. The campaign helps teens see Windows Live Messenger as the cool chat alternative.”
Peter Sluszka, the Hornet director who created the animation, said, “It was a web-based animation and noone wanted it to look like a typical Flash piece, we wanted an interesting organic look. So we used traditional methods in camera with still frame and stop motion techniques. We shot on multi planes set up with the camera facing straight down, shooting through panes of glass to achieve depth of field. We made characters out of a mix of photographic and illustrative techniques. The teen characters were paper cut out puppets but Zoltar had a real body, he was a sculpted puppet with armatures, constructed as a 3D model.”
Zoltar is a strong character who succeeds in relaying a bold message that is communicated through broadband animation. “The videos are essential for Zoltar,” said Roy Schmidt, marketing manager at Microsoft’s Online Services Group. “They create the set up for the primary directive to “Stay in touch” and showcase the unique personality of Zoltar. Bringing light to this character via rich video content is the best way to allow a user to develop a relationship with the site. Zoltar entertains the users, gets them involved and then pays off the fun experience with a tie in to the Windows Live Messenger.”
iSpot Of The Week Credits:
Description: Talesofzoltar.com is a series of three animated broadband video spots that promote Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger. As a group of teens speak badly about a friend, Zoltar appears out of thin air, issuing a fortune about how successful the friend will be and reminding the teens how important it is to stay in touch, which they can do with Windows Live Messenger.
Client: Microsoft Windows Live Messenger
Agency: AKQA, San Francisco
Executive Creative Director: PJ Pereira
Account Creative Director: Adam Lau
Art Director: Jason Apaliski
Copywriter: Robert Lambrechts
Producers: Peter Bassett and Eric Andrade
Account Supervisor: Kathryn Wolf
Production Company: Hornet, New York
Director of Animation: Peter Sluszka
Creative Developers: Ian Bauer and Michelle Murata
Planner: Evan Mager
