Amazon turned to director Peter Sluszka for the fourth straight year to kick off Amazon Prime Day–actually two days earlier this week, July 15 and 16. A mixed media maven, Sluszka specializes in stop motion, set design and fabrication. He brought all that expertise and more to bear on a campaign which included this energetic spot.
This year’s partnership was particularly exciting for Hornet, because Amazon worked directly with Sluszka from the get-go, not just on execution. After mutually exploring more than 30 potential concepts, they eventually landed upon an idea centered around a “Two-Day Parade of Epic Deals”.
The parade that Sluszka and his team ultimately created is a fun, public procession of Amazon’s product diversity laid out in colorful stop-motion. The scenes feature confetti-strewn streets filled with hundreds of originally designed characters buzzing about in an exposition of all that’s on offer in the Prime Day marketplace—from home goods to electronics to outdoor fun to even Nicolas Cage Mermaid Pillows (yep, those are a real thing sold on Amazon).
Like previous campaigns, the world created is a textured universe made of paper and cardboard. Cardboard was the original material of choice because it played off of Amazon’s shipping boxes. In the animations, when one of these boxes opens up…an entire world comes spilling out. Everything is paper: the characters are cardboard, the floats and buildings are spruced up with sheets of colored paper, even the “water” very liquidly splashing out of a pool is paper. At times these creations are so intricately designed and detailed they look almost CG. But, bar one tiny asset at the beginning of the commercial, they’re entirely handcrafted. As Sluszka said, “Aesthetically, paper craft speaks directly to Amazon’s cardboard box. You get an undeniable tangibility and charm by doing it with actual paper.”
CreditsClient Amazon Production Hornet, New York Peter Sluszka, director; Greg Bedard, exec producer; Sang-Jin Bae, head of production; Kristin Labriola, development producer; Matt Creeden, producer; Stephanie Andreou, Sam Stulin, editors; Riley Spencer, production coordinator; Gabriel Pages, Carlos Ancalmo, Kathleen Gleeson, storyboard artists; Steve Lewis, character design; Sam Mason, Tae Kim, Alejandro Diaz, Nicole Gallagher, Fred Gardner, John Nevarez, Kevin Osorio, Joshua Jun, Kathleen Gleeson, Sara Litzenberger, Tomas Valecillo, Tal Rachman, Carlos Ancalmo, designers; Joel Kretschman, live action line producer; Ivan Abel, DP; Richard Coppola, motion control operator; Pete List, Matt Christensen, Matt Somma, Maxwell Sorenson, animators; Tim McDonald, art director; Ben Kress, head of puppet fabrication; Pete Erickson, Kerry Coutu, Matt Scharenbroich, Laura Noveck, Melissa Chow, Gloria Gutierrez, Ilya Smelansky, Nico Benenati, Tiffany Chan, Jackie Nash, Janet O’Sullivan, Maxwell Sorenson, Taili Wu, David Assel, Simon Allen, Lotty Vigue, Koren Harpaz, Brian Haimes, Samantha Smith, fabricators; John Harrison, Peter Fink, VFX supervisors, lead compositors; Bil Thompson, Xiaoxiao Tang, Janelle Miau, Ali Kocar, Nichola Latzgo, Michael Cafarelli, Sang Lee, Keith Yan, compositors; Ivan Joy, Ken Lee, CG modelers; Doug Litos, pre-viz; Ken Lee, lighting & rendering; Tae Kim, matte painter; Shawn King, color correct. (Toolbox: StopMotion, Nuke, Maya, AfterEffects, Premiere) Music DLMDD Sound Design We Are Walker
Top Spot of the Week: Director Jake Scott, Paramount Brand Studios “Make Your Gameday Epic” In “Gladiator II”-Inspired Pepsi Spot
Nearly 20 years after Pepsi’s “Roman Empire” made its mark on pop culture, the brand is returning to the arena with a colossal Gladiator-themed campaign titled, “Make Your Gameday Epic™.” Celebrating the start of the 2024 NFL season and the highly anticipated release of Paramount Pictures’ Gladiator II in theaters on Nov. 22, this short film--directed by Jake Scott via RSA Films for Paramount Brand Studio features Megan Thee Stallion, as Empress Megan, leading a legion of NFL superstars turned Gridiron Gladiators, including Josh Allen, Derrick Henry, Justin Jefferson and Travis Kelce, locked in an epic battle with ice-cold Pepsi at the heart of the action. A brand-new gameday anthem from three-time, Grammy award-winning artist Megan Thee Stallion soundtracks the campaign. The unmistakable “boom, boom, clap” from Queen’s epic track “We Will Rock You” is featured on a fresh sample with cutting new lyrics from Megan. The new track became available on all major music streaming platforms, and ahead of Megan hosting the 2024 MTV VMAs last night (9.11), where the track and music-video inspired spot were heard and seen throughout the show. “I’m honored to follow in the footsteps of the legends who appeared in this Gladiator campaign 20 years ago and proud to have carved my own new legacy,” said Megan Thee Stallion. “Pepsi really brought the worlds of music, sports and entertainment together in a powerful way to set off the new NFL season.” The spot opens with Lamorne Morris and Jake Lacy peering into a can of Pepsi Zero Sugar as it transforms into a colosseum. Empress Megan calls the shots, and the royal roster of NFL players are at her command as they all vie for her favor and a sip of an ice-cold Pepsi... Read More