General Mills Cereal Squad
Cereal Squad Unite!
As kids growing up the 1980’s cereal mascots and commercials have been forever engrained into our brains. We have seen the iconic mascots change shapes, sizes as well as creative approaches over the years. So when General Mills came to us to help evolve the iconic characters into an all new iteration AND bring them all together under one roof, we we’re over the moon with excitement to get started.
The campaign was to showcase the new free toys that can be found within each box. The look of the toys was already set and provided a jumping off point for our exploration. We knew right from the start we wanted to do something special and bring all the Trix from our toolbox. We landed upon building an entirely CG 3D world, but keeping all of our characters in a classic 2D hand drawn animation style. Our journey began with figuring out exactly where the new gang would call home.
The
Clubhouse
We wanted to give the squad an awesome gathering place to call home and carry the central theme of cereal in every nook and cranny. We eventually landed on large interior clubhouse setting that all centered around a massive table that resembles a classic cereal bowl. We threw in an aquarium style see through floor, stained glass cereal windows and a massive cereal inspired chandelier to tie the room together.
Familiar
But Different
Our squad mates needed a makeover and we we’re up for the task. We wanted to keep the entire squad in line with the look of the free toy give-away but we’re given permission to play. We kept with the large head and eyes theme from the toys overall but aged them down a bit to get the kiddos excited about the squad. We also played with giving them outfits and accessories that attached to the theme of toy collecting, but ultimately decided to keep them mostly unclothed.
Six
Iconic Brands
After we settled on the character design and clubhouse setting, we began the process of bringing it together. We knew we had 6 iconic cereal brands to pull inspiration from for all the details within the clubhouse. We wanted each squad member to have an equal representation within the space, and wanted this idea to be felt across every last detail. We gave them each custom chairs, cereal bowls and spoons, stained glass windows, entry way designs, and carpet designs to name a few.
Animation Trix
We wanted to keep our characters in 2D so that we could leverage classic animation techniques to bring the gang to life. Using smears, squashing, stretching and blurs we gave our guys that extra personality they deserve. Who knew Buzz had THREE EYES?!
One More Thing
One last detail we wanted to include we’re some awesome portraits solidifying the squad into their new home. We definitely had a lot of fun with this one.
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Back
Another
Dimension
Next up was bringing all of these awesome details from concept into 3D. We have a ton of fun playing with all the pieces, giving every last object the same attention to detail in 3D. From making sure each piece of cereal felt real to life, and making sure the space felt lived in.
The Most
Important Meal
We wanted to give the center piece of the room as much detail as possible. It is where the squad gathers and where the most action takes place within our spot. We see all 6 custom bowls, cereals and chairs.
Social
Squad
Alongside the tv spot we delivered a handful of social companion content for the launch. From IG stories and polls to FB carousels. Here is an example of some of one of the animated spots.
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