Taco Bell’s latest spot “Fry Force,” created by production house Psyop in collaboration with advertising agency Deutsch, premiered during the Opening Ceremonies for the 2021 Summer Olympics. In an homage to this year’s Olympics taking place in Tokyo, the anime-styled commercial depicts the struggle to save Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries from evil forces. Playing like a short film, director Luca Vitale worked with Psyop and its co-founder/director Kylie Matulick to design the animation project, which was completed in just nine weeks, from start to finish.
 
“For this specific piece, we really wanted to play to the tropes. There was the mandate to be dramatic and classic, but it’s about Nacho Fries”, said Vitale who is being launched as a director by Psyop. “There is drama juxtaposed to the silliness. Getting to work with Psyop and make this creation come to life has been one of the most rewarding collaborations of my career.”
 
Born and raised in Milan, Italy, Vitale is currently based in Tokyo, spending time yearly in both New York and Tokyo. His knowledge and passion for Japanese culture led him to create the vision for the anime genre inspired commercial for Taco Bell. Vitale officially joins Psyop’s roster of directors and artists. He has been involved in a wide variety of projects from animated television shows to advertising for major brands and personal short films. His work has been featured in several festivals including the Ottawa Film Festival and won several accolades. His past projects include collaborations with notable brands such as Travel Oregon and Airbnb.
 
“I had the pleasure of working alongside Luca. He was able to bring on such talented artists. The team he assembled brought a nice level of authenticity to this project”, said Matulick. “We saw a golden opportunity to make a fun spot for Taco Bell. Anime is a rich world and there is so much history with a real deep connection between the genre and food. Having spent so much time in Tokyo, Luca really breeds this culture.”
 
In this :60 spot, Rei’s brother Kosuke is taken by Nacho Fry devouring monsters. Rei must push through her hunger and lead the Fry Force, an elite squad of mecha pilots to keep the monsters at bay. But when the monsters unexpectedly overtake the team, Rei finds herself face to face with her long-lost brother. Now that he’s consumed by a primal hunger for Nacho Fries, Rei must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice in order to save Nacho Fries and the world.
 

Credits

Client Taco Bell Agency Deutsch LA Karen Costello, chief creative officer Bea Danger, executive creative director; Daniel Chen, Stephanie Kohnen, creative directors; Maria Snell, Christian Silva, associate creative directors; Paul Roy, SVP, executive producer; Daniel Stenzel, producer; Chip Herter, music director. Production Psyop, bicoastal Luca Vitale, Kylie Matulick, directors; Jared Yeater, exec producer; Christine Schneider, global director of production; Jamie Pastor, head of production; Jennifer Adams, sr. producer; Morgan MacCuish, bidding producer; Savanna Stephens, associate producer; Loren Christiansen, Lance Pereira, editors; Annie Cattish, Ghozu Haruna, Edward Tsang, Pan Matsumura, character designers; Teru Matori, Edward Tseng, Ching Yeh, creature designers; Ching Yeh, Amanda Tunnell, Bobby Ushiro, graphic designers; Andrew Park, Guitty Mojabi, Nikita Kukolev, Ayan Nag, matte painters; Eddie Mehong, animation director; Henry Teitelman, animator; Tommy Wooh, Paul Taduro, Pete Germano, motion graphic designers; Cristiano Rinaldi, font designer; Paul Cohen, Christopher Parker, lead storyboard artists; Jiyeon Park, Ben Li, storyboard artists; Kevin Oeser, treatment writer; Kyle Cassidy, creative director-live action; Brandon Sanders, VFX supervisor-live action; Eric Rosenfeld, on-set VFX supervisor; Volkert Besseling, editor-live action; Lane Jolly, Chad Buehler, Dylan Brown, Nuke compositors; Jonathan Iwata, CG tracking; Alex Wysota Cory Daniels, DMG. (Toolbox: TV Paint, Retas, Clip Studio, Photoshop, After Effects) Production Company Yapiko Animation, Tokyo Eddie Mehong, producer. Production Company Echelle Animation, Tokyo Mike Suzuki, producer; Eddie Mehong, manager/animation director; Jenny Feng, assistant producer; Ghozu Haruna, lead character designer; David Canoville, BG/media concept; Philippe Ogaki, line BG concept art; Oualid Moussa, assistant animator; Antoine Anton, Bong Nguyen, Kai Ruzica, Nicolas Jaffre, Julien Cortey, Claude Labrosse, Marylou Cannard, Theo Tran Ngoc, Marietta Ren, Jerome Perillat Columb, Loup Bouche, animators; Max Maleo, 3D animator; Production Company Tsumugi Akita Anime Lab, Akita, Japan  Sakurai Tsukasa, producer; Mizobuchi Miho, animation/inbetween/color; Higashiro Tetsuo, Hiratsuka Moe, Ryoma Shigemitsu, Yamauchi Shingetsu, Tsuzuki Hideaki, Takahashi Ryougo, Shimade Ryouta, Koenagi Ami, inbetween/color. Production Company Spacesheep, Annecy-le-Vieux, France Nicolas Barbieux, producer; Dorian Winnicki, chief compositing; Hugo David, Aristide Antoine, Amaud Ducor, compositing; Ulysse Chaudron, jr. compositing. Audio Formosa Commercials Lauren Cascio, exec producer; John Bolen, mixer, sound designer. Audio Sim International Jesse Fellows, recordist. Color MPC Ricky Gausis, colorist; Caitlin Forrect, producer. Original Music JDM

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