Pepsi 'Sumo'

"Pepsi's 'Sumo' spot was the commercial most liked by viewers during a recent poll of July 05"
Source: AdAge.com Online Edition
 

FRAMESTORE PLAYS CHICKEN WITH PEPSI
What happens when you cross a bottle of Pepsi and two roasted chickens? Answer: a wrestling match in Framestore and BBDO's new :30 spot for Pepsi entitled Sumo.

"The challenge was trying to make realistic, edible chickens, while giving the animators freedom to move the chickens however they liked, well beyond the movement a real chicken can achieve," said Andy Walker, 3D Animator, Framestore NY. "All areas needed to be strong with a robust character setup, complex shaders to make it look succulent and animation with the right balance of humor, weight and realism."

Sumo opens with a young man toting a two litre bottle of Pepsi into a convenience store to buy himself a roasted chicken. After the cashier asks him which of the two chickens he would prefer, the man bends down to get a closer look at the golden brown birds in the deli showcase. When the chickens feel his presence and catch a glimpse of his Pepsi bottle, the spot quickly turns into a bizarre lesson in survival of the fittest. The two chickens suddenly pop up and begin to sumo wrestle as the young man watches in awe. Unfazed, the cashier provides occasional commentary. Sumo ends with one chicken being thrown out of the display case and the victorious chicken is awarded the honor of being tonight's dinner.

Framestore used a standard 3D Maya/Mental Ray pipeline as well as a large selection of in house tools created during their long experience in creature and character work for film, television and commercials. Proprietary skinning and dynamic muscle systems helped to hold the shape of the chicken character as well as allow efficient character design changes.

"The entire fight was planned prior to the shoot," said Murray Butler, VFX Supervisor, Framestore. "Using footage we shot of actual sumo wrestlers, the director was able to cut an entire sequence and even decide on general angels for each shot. The fight footage was then adapted to work with the CGI chickens we built. We shot real roasted chickens in position for reflections, shadows and general look reference. We also made sure we shot real focus pulls and glass reflection passes to ensure that our effects looked optical as possible."