Not petty!
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It turns out there are more than 600 million stray animals worldwide and one of the root causes is rather benevolent – gifting! It’s a sad story, but we had a noble opportunity to contribute to this issue. We stepped in the paws of a little doggo that has been “happily” gifted to a little boy. It’s all happy until it’s not. A seemingly regular holiday season advertisement takes a dark turn towards the harsh reality of shelters. We intentionally conveyed this visual drama through extremely contrasting color schemes between the two sides of the story as well as associative montage.
Bliss vs. Drama
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A very cheerful bright beginning of this story is portrayed in a sunny color scheme to emphasize the happy start of a cute and lovely friendship. We opted for a postcard look and hand-drawn animated fairytale to establish a feeling of ultimate happiness right away.
The once cliche wonderworld takes a swift dark turn, as things turn sour. The dog and the viewer are sent on a bad trip real quick when caretakers are suddenly pissed off by the dog’s piss and chewed household items. It’s an intentionally dark nightmarish feel from the dog’s POV and it all ends up in a shelter. Sadly, that’s often the case.
Character exploration
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We chose a ginger boy and a pretty expensive ginger-colored Jack Russell puppy for this bestie story. They are an instant match both on the screen and between the frames. Both are well-behaved and have good family trees. We could afford lots of nice styling and outfits too. Jack Russell was a good companion for our animators too with the good old cel animation! A lively fit!
Character sheets
Key Visual
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“Pet is not a gift” also had to be portrayed in one clear, still image, for the needs of this campaign. So, for the print, online, and offline materials, we chose this uncanny feel that something’s not right, a gift that doesn’t really seem happy. We aimed for a dark image to deliver the right tone of voice and we truly hope this will get the message across.
Credits
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Director Roberts Kulenko • Art Director Gints Gutmanis • Executive producers Helena Zakare-Semjonova, Elina Alaine, Laura Zavodska, Rita Steimane • Illustrations Gosia Jeniec • Sketched storyboard artist Arturs Bunts • Graphic designer Matiss Zvaigzne • Cel animation lead Francois Schonken • Animation lead Gints Gutmanis • Rough keys & Tiedowns Francois Schonken, Milena Tipaldo, Kyrylo Novikov, Anastasia Titarenko • Clean up & Color Maxim Kotlyar, Kyrylo Novikov, Anastasia Titarenko, David Stumpf, Francois Schonken, Ke Ren • 2D Animation & Compositing Vladimirs Karsecjans • Post-production Gints Gutmanis, Vladimirs Karsecjans • Sound and Music design Arturs Liepins • Voice over Robins Pols Sverns
