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Hackett Films at Royal Easter Show

Press release from Tsuki

On Sunday 21 March, the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) of NSW will launch its new campaign for one of Australia’s most iconic brands and the biggest event in the southern hemisphere, the Sydney Royal Easter Show. The simplified “I Wanna Go” campaign, conceptualised by DDI, puts emphasis back on kids and fun, with enhanced visual and dynamic appeal by leading production house Hackett Films.
 
“We created a single theme and personality which drives what the show stands for” says John Speers general manager DDI. “We’ve also shifted strategic emphasis this year with a campaign that’s specifically designed to maximise the pester power of kids.”
 
DDI studied some of the great animated cartoons, including Nemo, Ice Age, Toy Story and Shrek, to understand what makes these films works so well, with kids predominantly but with adults also. They then took their findings to Sydney production house Hackett Films, who are renowned for creating unique character-driven stories and for their work in children’s TV series production.
 
“Armed with the benchmarks in animated film, we chose to bring our story alive with the production house that is the benchmark in this style – Hackett Films” says Speers.
 
The playful and energetic campaign shows a humorous and richly textured animated world, inhabited by singing and dancing farmyard animals, Bluey the cattle dog, Smokey the pig and Milky the cow.
 
And dance they do, as the farmyard friends pull some serious moves on the back of a Ute as they hurtle from countryside into town for the show. Smokey busts out moves like the ‘running man’, all while the monstrous shadow of Robosaurus – this year’s Show main event – looms over them.
 
“Doing a second round of commercials for the Royal Easter Show a year after the first gave us the opportunity to refine and develop the characters and script, as well as build on our 3D and photomontage techniques. We created commercials that are striking and unique with fleshy, toon rendered characters that will resonate with kids and adults alike” says James Hackett, Hackett Films.
 
Abe Forsyth, 2010 Tropfest winner, was enlisted as voiceover talent, adding yet another layer of life and energy to the animation and sound track.
 
The campaign will be launching across TV and radio, with rich streaming digital work, social media, print, and outdoor.
 
This is the second consecutive year Hackett Films has worked on the Royal Easter Show campaign.
 
The campaign marks the first work from creative agency DDI, since winning the account for strategic brand development and creative across all RAS brands – The Easter Show, Sydney Showground, Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy and Fine Food Shows, RAS Foundation and the Australasian Animal Registry.
 
The agency also worked closely with News Ltd, Australia Post and City Rail and ensured an integrated campaign is achieved allowing the convergence of media and messaging across different platforms and technology.


Client:                               
               Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
Campaign Name:                            I Wanna Go
Advertising Campaign:                   TV, Radio, Online, Outdoor
Run Date:                               
         March – April 2010
 
Agency:                               
             DDI
Creative Team:                              Bernd Winter, Julie Zogbi, Julie Austin, Andrew Jones
Account Management:                  John Speers, Tara McLennan
 
Production Company:                Hackett Films
Director:                               
           James Hackett
Producer:                               
         Kala Ellis
3D Animation:                               
Ben Wright & Ben Hubbard
3D Layout, Compositing & Rendering: Ben Wright
2D Design, Animation & Compositing: Mary Benn
3D Modelling/Texturing:            Matt McKay
 
Media:                               
              Match
John Preston, Jess Oakes and Alana Saphin