We open at a Starbucks shop where a cup has the name “Sue” written on it in black marker. We soon find out that this cup of espresso was destined for Sue some time ago, as we see the planting of a bean stalk in the soil accompanied by Sue’s name. Sue is also written on the hand-operated bean grinder, and then on the burlap bags containing the ground coffee. The name Sue even appears on the side of a ship transporting the burlap bags.
    Upon returning to the Starbucks, we see Sue pick up her espresso and go outside to drink, enjoy and soak in her environs. A super appears with the simple message, “Handcrafted for Sue.” Shortly thereafter, the word “You” is substituted for “Sue.”
    Titled “Espresso,” this spot was directed by Samir Mallal of Smuggler for BBDO New York. The BBDO team included CCO David Lubars, sr. creative director Linda Honan, copywriter Ant White, art director Russ Fox, sr. producer Tricia Lentini and music producer Rani Vaz.
    Editor was Adam Pertofsky of Rock Paper Scissors. VFX house was MassMarket.

CALABASH’S LUCKY 3D CHARM    Over the years Calabash Animation has taken Lucky the Leprechaun, the beloved brand icon for General Mills’ Lucky Charms cereal, on an amazing number of adventures. But none quite like their :30, “Everybody Flies,” which finds Lucky animated in 3D for the first time ever. The ad was created by Saatchi & Saatchi, New York.
   The spot begins with Lucky opening his book of magical spells to the one that imparts the power of flight. Suddenly Lucky finds himself caught up in a magical roller-coaster ride through the night sky atop a flying shooting star charm. Unbeknownst to Lucky, three kids far below are preparing an ambush from an ancient stone bridge. When Lucky swoops low overhead, the kids temporarily snag him in a giant net but are pulled over the edge, landing on their own magical flying shooting star charms and following Lucky up into the sky. The spot ends with the kids crash landing unharmed and Lucky swooping in to nab his box of Lucky Charms .
    “The challenge for our CG team was to capture the spirit of Lucky and the kids in a way that feels both natural and expressive,” said Wayne Brejcha, Calabash creative director. “Traditional animators tend to think about the characters differently than CG animators. When you’re drawing something you bring a sense of design to it simply because every line in it comes from hand to the paper. With CG a digital model exists inside the computer with form and structure, and there’s a tendency to let the computer model do its thing, but doing that gives up some of the artistry you get from cel animation. We wanted our CG team to think about the nuances you get with cel and bring that to life in 3D. We took all of the expertise our staff has developed drawing these characters for the last 20 years and brought it into the CG world.”

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS…    Edmund Choe will join TBWAGreater China as co-president and head of creative in May. He joins group president Ian Thubron and together, as partners, they will run the agency’s operations across the Greater China region. Choe spent the last two decades at Saatchi & Saatchi, in Malaysia, Singapore and latterly as chief creative officer for Greater China based in Beijing….L.A.-based ad agency/production company Stun Creative has hired Corey Stern as VP, development. He formerly served as director of development at (Conan O’Brien’s) Conaco Productions….

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