An assortment of oddly appealing characters—including a donut with bad teeth and a bottle of soda with a flair for ballet—appear in an off-the-wall animated spot for ARCO’s ampm convenience stores that will likely appeal to teenagers and young adults—and maybe even grownups—with an appreciation for twisted humor, as well as junk food.
Airing mainly on the West Coast and titled "Kid," the :30 opens on a blonde-haired boy in a green T-shirt standing in front of an ampm with a soda in one hand and a corn dog in the other. He is happily singing the praises of the store and its menu of offerings. "I love to buy cherry pie, and I love to eat corn dogs with nacho cheese," the kid warbles as his companions—a muffin and a donut—stand beside him. Both of the baked goods are smiling and having a grand old time. In fact, the donut taps its foot along to the music.
Cut to inside the store, where the environment isn’t entirely animated anymore: There is actually a still shot of the interior of an ampm upon which the animated boy and goodies—this time a soda bottle, an ice cream sandwich and a hamburger—interact.
"Ampm stores make me happy," the kid sings, "because they’ve got the treats that I need indeed." While the boy sings, the soda bottle, wearing ballet slippers, performs classic ballet moves, and the ice cream sandwich spins on its hindquarters like a breakdancer. When the hamburger, which is on rollerskates, rolls toward him, the kid bends down, opens his mouth and takes a big bite out of it.
Next, it’s back outside the store for the big finale. "They make me love the world," the boy declares, accompanied by the bottle of soda, donut and ice cream sandwich. A hot dog moves into frame, doing the dance known as the worm, which, at this point, seems strangely normal.
Then a scruffy-looking orange cat, holding what appears to be a candy bar, appears at the forefront of the scene and stays there as the screen goes black and the ampm logo appears. "Ampm—too much good stuff!" the feline declares before eking out a little roar at the conclusion of the spot.
The bizarre and engaging "Kid" is part of a two-spot campaign and the creation of Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), Los Angeles; the second spot is titled "Date." Credit goes to Dan Burrier, chief creative officer; Grant Holland and Gavin Milner, creative directors; Justin Hooper, art director; Steve Williams, copywriter; Julie Salik, head of production; and Nicole Visram, producer.
Both the animation and music track are the work of Brendan Kilcoyne of Threebrain, Los Angeles.
Jason Frank of R!OT, Santa Monica, was Fire artist. Peter Rincon of POP Sound, Santa Monica, was the audio mixer.
