SMNY Gets Greasy with Castrol for Ogilvy
The Brief:
Design, animation and VFX studio Smoke & Mirrors New York (SMNY) recently completed this humorous :30 introducing Castrol's Edge oil via O&M NY.
Grease Monkeys begins with a young man approaching his friend's garage and finding a half dozen coverall-wearing chimpanzees acting as a small pit crew to service his car. "I bought a case of Castrol Edge," says a seated man wearing an air filter on his head, "and they just showed up. Made me their king."
The small team of primates washes the windows, checks the oil, fires up a welding torch and adjusts the car's radio, symbolizing the comprehensive care that Edge oil provides. Meanwhile, the seated man extols the advantages of Castrol's new advanced synthetic before turning to kiss the chimp seated on his lap.
The garage scene then fades to a white backdrop featuring the Castrol logo and the new oil's tagline, "It's more than just oil. It's liquid engineering."
From SMNY:
Take several monkeys shot separately, then combine. Create and add a Flame particle blow torch burner, then remove all the wires tethering the monkeys to the ground. What do you have? A hilarious Super Bowl spot courtesy of craftsman Kirk Balden.
The Creds:
Client: Castrol
Spot Title: Grease Monkeys
Air Date: February 2009
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather/NY
WW Creative Director: David Fowler
Creative Director: Jim Nolan
Associate Creative Director: Mark Davis
Copywriter: Stephen Winston
Director of Broadcast Production: Patti McConnell
Agency Executive Producer: Lisa Christman
Agency Producer: Brie Hagle
Production Company: Furlined, LA
Directors: The Perlorian Brothers
EP: David Thorne
Producer: Jay Shapiro
Post/Effects: Smoke & Mirrors/NY
CD: Sean Broughton
Sr. Flame Artist: Kirk Balden
Managing Director: Jo Morgan
EP: Celest Gilbert
Producer: Paul O'Beirne
About SMNY:
New York and London-based design, animation and VFX studio, Smoke & Mirrors was founded by Creative Director/VFX Artist Sean Broughton (NY), Penny Verbe (UK) and Mark Wildig (UK). A creative and artist-driven company synonymous with vision and originality since its inception, Smoke & Mirrors has consistently succeeded because of its collaborative approach and ability to build lasting creative relationships with directors, producers, agencies and clients alike.
Production in the New York office is lead by Managing Director Jo Morgan and Executive Producer Celest Gilbert. Diverse projects range from work on the Harry Potter and Bond film series, to commercials campaigns for Mercedes, Burger King, Miller Lite and Sirius. Recent music vid clips include Feists 1 2 3 4, and I Feel It All. Each office is fully networked together with complementary systems allowing the companies to share resources, expanding local capacity. Close involvement with hardware and software manufacturers and developers has kept Smoke & Mirrors at the forefront of innovation and technology.
