The Milk That Doesn’t Mess With You

Building on the success of their previous campaign, the clients at Johnson & Johnson charged BBDO with elevating their brand spokeswoman to iconic status. They also wished to introduce a new cow character - metaphorical of regular milk - in a fresh and funny way that would cut through the noise in the current marketplace. With two major character tasks at hand, it was a natural choice to bring the work to Framestore, the home of animated icon creatures.

Director of Animation David Hulin spoke about the development process: ‘We recognised from the outset that the success of the project was dependent upon the time spent in developing the character. There is a big difference between an animated cameo and carrying the spot with an animated performance. Both characters would be 'human size’, and would need to act in very intimate close-up framing. We needed to ensure that we developed both cows to a level which would enable us to give a much more fleshed out and interesting set of characters both in look and performance.’ Thus ensued a very thorough design exploration. ‘As we set about creating “Regular Cow” we also explored how Lactaid Cow would appear next to the anti-hero, so always approached the design process in a very holistic way. We put the team in the hands of our Animation Supe Shayne Ryan, who brought delightful detail and perfect comedy time to the campaign.’

Eric Kissack's experience as a comedy director made for a great partnership and provided Framestore with a structure that could be built upon with animated performances. Said Kissack, ‘I’m a complete control freak on set but I quickly learned to trust the talented artists at Framestore when it came to the animation. Their instincts on performance are spot-on. I actually started to feel guilty at a certain point that I wasn't being more controlling, but everything that came back from them exceeded my expectations. I'm so proud of their work and of the finished product.’

CG Lead John Montefusco said of the complexity of the character build, groom and look development: ‘We had to make sure Lactaid Cow was adorable, with a bit of sass and confidence. For Regular Cow, the idea was to make her a bit goofier, the wild child of the family. We really wanted to bring this out not only in her movements but in her overall style. The overdone glossy lipstick, and fuller, floppy hair really gave her her fun-loving style. The time our team spent in fine-tuning Lactaid and Regular Cow definitely shines through in the finished work.’

Compositing Lead Karch Coon was in charge of the challenging compositing integration. ‘This spot was particularly tricky in that both CG characters interact quite a bit with the practical objects - cartons, bowls, etc. This seamless blend between 2D and 3D is on full display throughout the spot. The comp team was really impressed with the top notch work from Framestore NY's CG and Animation departments. On the 2D side we took great care to make the cows feel visually at home in the kitchen, and let their fantastic performances drive the story.’