Emirates’ latest brand ambassador Gerry the Goose invites customers to take a gander at the benefits and services of the world’s largest international airline, and choose to ‘Fly Better’.
The campaign storyline follows Gerry as he ruffles feathers by deciding to Fly Better aboard a comfortable and sophisticated Emirates Premium Economy cabin, while his migrating bird-brethren are in ‘fowl humour’ after a long and tiring flight by wing. Gerry is spotted smugly bypassing his counterparts as they fly outside the plane window, while he indulges in a delicious meal and reclines in his spacious seat to enjoy ‘The Goose, The Bad and The Ugly’ movie on his 13.3″ personal entertainment screen.
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‘In terms of the qualities and profile we look for in our brand ambassadors – we are spreading our wings,’ said SVP of marketing and brand at Emirates, Richard Billington. ‘Gerry is a savvy traveller who knows what he wants and where he wants to go- but he’s adamant he’ll do it in style, with luxury and comfort as a priority. Having witnessed his seamless travel experience, we are confident that next time his friends will choose to Fly Better.’
Untold Studios in London undertook the production of the concept to bring the initial 3D models of geese to life via Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI). The CGI and filming process took 14 weeks and involved the team finessing every feather along with lighting and texture while ensuring carefully created movements brought the character to life. This included time to animate Gerry’s friends, a shoot in London to capture the nature scenes, and a shoot on board Emirates’ aircraft in Dubai.
Ben Cronin, director and creative director at Untold Studios, explains, “I loved this script instantly and knew it was an endearing story to tell. Our VFX team did an amazing job bringing Gerry to life, especially as CGI birds are incredibly difficult to get right! We had a lot of fun making this spot and we hope everyone enjoys its playful spirit.”
The VFX team at Untold prevised the entire film before shooting. Filming mostly clean plates, with 3D printed and taxidermy goose stand-ins, the team then went to work on crafting the CGI geese. The project showcases a range of techniques from water simulation to matte painting as well as careful compositing to seamlessly integrate the CGI elements into the live-action plates.
Throughout the film, British voiceover talent Michael Cronin to captures the dulcet tones of an experienced nature documentarist to tie in the campaign together.
The global ad campaign will be in full flight across the world in 25 countries for the month of September.
Credits
Client: Emirates
Production: Untold Studios
Director: Ben Cronin
EP/Producer: Josh Davies
Production manager: Ben Burdock
Production assistant: Tia Varnnard
Director of photography: Simon Richards
Editor: Matt Chodan
Edit house: Gorilla TV
VFX: Untold Studios
EP: Sophie Harrison
Producer: Lauren Oldfield
Production assistant: Jordan Malonga
VFX supervisor: Amir Bazazi
Compositing supervisor: Alex Kulikov
Creature supervisor: Chloe Dawe
Animation lead: Geraint (Gez) Wright
VFX lead | Jack Harris, Alex Doyle, Lewis Pickston, Justin Braun, Christian Baker
VFX artist | Joe Kane, Shariq Altaf, Clement Petellaz, Vlad Pascanu, Matteo Antona, Kim Eja Felicia
Petersen, Henry Affonso, Harry McCusker-Bland, Seung Ho Henrik Holmberg
