Grey Canada has created a digital campaign to help el Jimador tequila celebrate Day of the Dead – a traditional Mexican holiday which has grown in popularity globally. The multi-day celebration, which starts on November 1, focuses on family and friend gatherings to remember/celebrate loved ones who have died, and support their spiritual journey to the other side. The campaign, entitled #welcomeback, embraces the camaraderie and inclusiveness of the day, welcoming everyone to the party – including the dead.

The work features fun-loving skeletons who aren’t ready to give up the right to celebrate the annual holiday. Working with Bent Image Lab, the team at Grey developed three stop-motion animation spots over several weeks. Each video explores tongue-in-cheek issues skeletons might face in social situations, including this one which touches upon whether your ID can still be used if you’re dead.

“Our design team came up with techniques I’ve never seen used before that really worked out in the finished puppets. The key to it all was embracing the Day of the Dead folk art aesthetic. We weren’t trying to make things slick and clean. We went for textural and charming and that allowed flexibility on how we made things,” said Rob Shaw, Bent Image Lab animation director. 

The combination of practical sets and CG backgrounds complemented and accentuated the quirky fluidity of the stop motion characters, and brought to life this unique world where the departed and the living celebrate together in a small cantina.

Credits

Client el Jimador, (Brown-Forman) Agency Grey Canada, Toronto Joel Arbez, James Ansley, executive creative directors; Perle Arteta, art director; Sara Radovanovich, writer; Karen Lee, VP content and CRM; Lauren Scapillati, strategy; Erica Metcalfe, producer. Production/VFX/AnimationBent Image Lab, Portland, Ore. Rob Shaw, animation director; Anthony Greene, exec producer; Robert D’Esposito, producer; Mark Eiffert, DP; Russ Eaton, DP (product shoot); Greg Arden, art director; Javan Ivey, lead animator; Brent Heise, editor; Barna Howard, compositor; Dan Kim, colorist. (Toolbox: Dragonframe, After Effects) Music/Sound Design Grayson Matthews Bridget Flynn, exec producer; Ryan Kondrat, John La Magna, creative directors.

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