In some respects, this is a tribute to the classic Looney Tunes cartoon in which Daffy Duck is trying to one-up Bugs Bunny as an entertainer. Daffy’s attempts, however, are to no avail. While Bugs receives ovation after ovation, Daffy pretty much hears the sound of one, much less two, hands clapping in response to his on-stage antics.
Nonetheless, Daffy is persistent and manages to win the crowd over with a stupendous death-defying act, ingesting nitroglycerine and going out in a blaze of explosive star-spangled glory right on stage. The audience goes wild. Bugs offers his hearty congratulations-but Daffy concedes that there’s a major tradeoff for instant stardom. He can only perform the act once, as we see his spirit float skyward. Well, that’s show business.
This :30 for Nestle Rowntree’s Polo mints-round candy with a hole in the middle, reminiscent of LifeSavers confectionery treats-puts us smack dab in the throes of show biz. The spot is a mix of stop-motion animation, CGI and live action. Individual Polo candies are seen auditioning for the Flo Ziegfield of Polo entertainment, a new character called The Creator, who himself has an oversized Polo-shaped forehead, with a hole in the middle.
Impressing The Creator is clearly a daunting task. Auditioning in a stark white arena, the first little Polo is spinning plates on sticks, with little success. The Creator, who sits amidst other Polos, has little patience for this mundane display, observing that the act is "not even slightly original." He immediately calls out for a replacement. "Next!"
The second little Polo bounces up and down along a xylophone, playing a little ditty. Exasperated, The Creator calls for the next candidate-or is that victim? But Polo number three, whose name is Roland, proves to be the charm. Roland is Houdini-esque.
He first appears bound in chains, totally immersed underwater in a piranha-filled fish tank. His fate appears sealed. However, he escapes from the jaws of death, literally, busting out of the chains, eluding the snapping piranha jaws and surging out of the water. The piranha are in pursuit, but soon are reduced to thrashing away on dry land, while Roland lands in the mouth of a cannon. The Creator is engrossed in the act, bounding from his hover chair and approaching the stage, as Roland is fired out of the cannon.
The Creator calls out to the flying Roland, "How refreshing. Totally original. You made the grade, Roland."
But a successful audition at this point seems immaterial as Roland smashes against the far wall, leaving a Polo-shaped imprint against it. The Creator winces upon witnessing the impact. But there’s another crash yet to come. Roland falls to the floor and smashes into tiny pieces.
Hardly skipping a beat, The Creator realizes the show must go on. He calls out "Next" and negatively nods his head as he walks off the stage.
A voiceover then utters, "Polo Original. Hole-y Refreshing." We see that slogan supered below a product shot of a packaged roll of Polo breath mint candies.
Entitled "Taarah"-an ironic take on "Taa Daaahhh!," when a magician successfully performs a trick-this spot is one of two in a Polo campaign directed by Luis Cook of Aardman Animations, Bristol, U.K., for J. Walter Thompson (JWT), London. Cook also designed the characters. DP was Simon Jacobs.
The JWT team consisted of creative director Jasper Shelbourne, art director Nick Wootton, copywriter Jonathan John and producer John Cheesemore.
The "Taarah" animator was Aardman’s Mike Cottee. Aardman also drew from the freelance talent pool such artisans as producer Abbie Ross, motion control artist Willy Marshall, assistant animator Dug Calder and rigger Craig Atkinson. Victoria Spurgeon was production coordinator for Aardman.
Models were created at the Gas Ferry Road Modelmaking Department, a division of Aardman. Sets were constructed at Farrington Lewis, London. Mark Russell at The Model Workshop, London, built the Polo mint models.
Offline editor was Nikk Fielden of Aardman. Colorist was Rob Pizzey of Soho 601, London. Online editor was Des Anwar of Soho 601. Sound editor was James Mather at Soundbyte, London. Audio engineer/mixer was Gary Walker at 750 MPH, London.
