Hornet directors JJ&Maithy teamed up once again with Pedone and Partners to bring the Pink Panther back as the face of Sweet'N Low's "Think Pink" campaign.
The new :30 spot, "Switch Up," debuted on Tuesday, June 13th and stars the Pink Panther as he slinks around the city on a nighttime Sweet'N Low switching spree: To the tune of Henry Mancini's famous theme song, he replaces everything from animals to hairpieces with pink packets of Sweet'N Low. The spot opens as the Panther creeps across a street to swipe a sidewalk musician's saxophone and leave a pink packet in its place. In another scene, he removes the toupee off a man and replaces it with the telltale packet. In another, he trades a dog for the packet. Meanwhile, the bumbling Inspector is one step behind, discovering the packets seconds after the Panther has left the scene.
The fast-paced action takes place in the heart-of-the-night in a city constructed of contrasting colors, from the deep, dark tones of red and blue to the prevalent shades of pink. Characters and buildings are outlined in a luminescent white stroke to have them stand out against the darkened backdrop. The spot posed the challenge of keeping the style similar to that of last year's commercial while also expanding upon it.
Hornet's visionary directing team JJ&Maithy oversaw the spot, a sequel to last summer's "Think Pink" spot, which they also directed. This time, the two took on the task of animating an ensemble cast of fifteen characters - including several characters they revived from the original spot.
"This one certainly had more animals and people, which posed many challenges, not only in having them interact within the 3d environment, but also stylistically," said JJ. "How do you make a dog fit into the style of the men and women characters?" The design is spare, relying on few details to convey a range of character types. For example, none of the characters except for the Panther have eyes or mouths. "It was a task using the most primitive shapes and infusing that with personality," JJ explained. "We had to look at certain subtle details, such as the angles of the nose and decide how that can really change the character's personality."
"That was one of my favorite parts, seeing the characters come to life," said producer Andrew Isaacson. "It was great to see how JJ and Maithy used the design concepts they had set in the first spot to create the next batch of characters such as the jogging woman, birds and dog, and Inspector Clouseau."
"We couldn't be happier, both with the final spot and getting there," said Matt Pedone, Pedone and Partners. "There was a high comfort level during the whole process working with JJ & Maithy and everyone at Hornet. It was entirely satisfying to see our vision come to life in such a creative way. Through out the production there was always this feeling of excited anticipation to see what was coming next."
Tools used: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, Maxon Cinema 4D
About Hornet
Hornet focuses on finding, developing, and supporting great talent. The production company looks across a range of industries for people with exceptional creative vision. As a result of this director-driven approach, Hornet has been able to assemble an exceptionally talented and diverse team of directors, each contributing a unique style and vision. For clients, this means work that is consistently fresh, innovative, and fits their branding needs.