Th1ng Directs Commercial For Air Wick

th1ng, the award-winning mixed media and animation studio, has created a TV spot for Air Wick advertising commissioned by Euro RSCG London.
The commercial was directed by Andy Powell and breaks on national television in mid February.
The advert is being shown as part of a larger marketing initiative to launch Air Wick's latest autospray Air Wick Freshmatic i-Motion.
Powell, who recently directed four Air Wick idents for the Emmerdale soap sponsorship on ITV, was briefed to represent i-Motion as the product ideally suited to the demands of a typical modern household.
In doing so, the spot had to demonstrate that i-Motion not only delivers continuous fragrancing, but also how its motion sensor automatically adjusts the level of fragrance when triggered by movement.
The advertisement is a 3D animation that portrays the life of Air Wick's iconic Rabbit family in a speeded-up mode mixed with real time animation.
The ad displays the life of rabbits busy in their day-to-day environment with the main focus on the Rabbit mum. She speaks directly to the audience and explains the benefits and functionality of i-Motion. As she addresses the audience in real time everything that is seen behind her is taking place in fast speed motion. We see rabbits running around completely engaged with their schedules and tasks.
Towards the end of the sequence, the two separate times come together when the husband of the Rabbit mum enters the house. On his arrival, the Rabbit mum stops addressing the audience and turns her attention to greeting her husband. The advert concludes with a promotional strapline: Air Wick, it's good to be home.
The main technique is centered on the variation of action pace and the use of two separate timelines with real time being juxtaposed with fast forward animation. The underlying message of the advert focuses on innovation championed by Air Wick.
Andy Powell, commercials director, said: "Illustrating movement through the speeding effect helped to make the ad more dynamic and better illustrate the hectic life of an average family household in a short space of time."
The 30 second commercial is almost entirely a product of CGI and took four weeks to complete. The Maya and RenderMan software was used for CGI frames while Aftereffects was used for editing effects. All compositing and production was carried out in house at th1ng.
Further information is available at: www.th1ng.com.
(KMcA/JM)