The Green Giant, the legendary brand icon behind Green Giant frozen vegetables, is back in a big way in “Pick-Up Game,” the new ad featuring animation from <a href="http://(www.calabashanimation.com)“>Calabash Animation, featuring a one-on-one basketball game between an over-matched father and a son who plays like a giant thanks to his love of Green Giant vegetables.
“As a character, the Green Giant has never really been seen this way before,” Sean Henry, <a href="http://(www.calabashanimation.com)“>Calabash Animation‘s Executive Producer says. “Traditionally, he’s always been in the background at the end of the ads. Here, he’s more front and center and actually interacting with people, albeit maybe a little too big to fit completely in the frame…”
In the spot we see a young boy at the family dinner table eagerly eating his vegetables while a voiceover intones, “With over 50 delicious choices of Green Giant vegetables, it’s easy to eat like a giant…”
From there we cut to a backyard basketball game between a father and son. As the father goes up for a shot, he is resoundly rejected by a gigantic green hand. Seconds later the animated hand slam-dunks the ball. The dad struggles to sink even a single basket as the giant – seen only from the perspective of his enormous legs towering over the dad — gets ready to charge the lane. Seconds later the shot of the enormous Green Giant cross-dissolves to the boy running toward his exhausted father as the voiceover continues “…and feel like a Green Giant.” The spot ends with the boy in the traditional Green Giant, hand-on-hips pose uttering the famous “ho, ho, ho” catchphrase.
For Wayne Brejcha, <a href="http://(www.calabashanimation.com)“>Calabash Animation‘s Creative Director, getting the perspective of the animated Green Giant playing the dad and perfectly blending the live action elements with their animation was paramount to the success of the spot.
“We had to create something realistic with the CG that felt physical and also accurately captured the way the muscles and skin move, while also keeping the character fanciful,” Brejcha says. “We had to strike a balance between physical accuracy and what looked good on screen. Blending with live action was challenging given the extensive lighting and the shadows, which communicate a lot to the viewer.”
Creative Credits
Client: General Mills/Green Giant
Project: “Pick Up Game” To view click here
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, New York
Animation: <a href="http://(www.calabashanimation.com)“>Calabash Animation, Chicago
Creative Director: Wayne Brejcha
Executive Producer: Sean Henry
About <a href="http://(www.calabashanimation.com)“>Calabash Animation
Led by Creative Director Wayne Brejcha and Executive Producer Sean Henry, <a href="http://(www.calabashanimation.com)“>Calabash Animation, Inc. ((www.calabashanimation.com)) is the Chicago, IL-based animation production studio, known for its award-winning cel, 3D and stop-motion animation for the advertising and entertainment industries. <a href="http://(www.calabashanimation.com)“>Calabash Animation is perhaps best known for their creative development of some of America’s most beloved brand icons. In addition to working on some of today’s top advertising the company has also produced several acclaimed short films. It’s 2002 short ”Stubble Trouble” was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002. Its most recent “Botnik” will hit the festival circuit in Fall 2008. Visit here for more info about <a href="http://(www.calabashanimation.com)“>Calabash Animation.
