Vitamin-rich home movie with fresh humor
Swiss fruits and vegetables are launching their first joint campaign with Unikat.
Barry the dog and Hans the goose. This cute pair play the leading role in seven commercials that were filmed last week around a farm in Lotzwil. Not much can be revealed about the story yet. The films will be broadcast on all channels of Swiss television from mid-August and will surprise viewers with their refreshing comedy. It's all about fruit and vegetables. Barry and Hans have plenty to talk about. Barry is dubbed by the popular singer and actor Endo Anaconda in a pleasant Bernese German. Hans the goose wants to know everything better in a polished St. Gallen dialect. "A tension is built up between the two, similar to Dick and Doof," reveals Daniel Meier. The CD of the Küsnacht agency Unikat wrote the script for this animal "soap". The agency won the unusual commission in a multi-stage pitch. The novelty of this comprehensive communication budget: for the first time, the Swiss Fruit Association and the Association of Swiss Vegetable Producers are working together on a campaign. "Together we can achieve much more than if we each do something on our own," says Jan Maurer, Managing Director of Unikat. "Each advertisement on its own would not even be half as effective," adds Bernadette Galliker, Head of Marketing at the Swiss Fruit Association. Thanks to halving the costs, the seven commercials could be realized in top quality by Swiss standards. This is necessary for such personalized animal stories, as the public is now quite spoiled by similar styles from Disney & Co.
The fact that an animal film could offer an ideal solution for this project was the decisive factor for Unikat. As the commercials are also seen against the backdrop of the opening EU market, a lot of complex information had to be packed into the films. "We have to get the Swiss origin across and have to advertise various seasonal products," explains Reto Brühlmann, Head of Marketing at the Swiss Vegetable Producers Association. If you let people say that, it quickly turns into a boring "infomercial". That's why Unikat has invented seven little stories that use talking animals to make the topic much more entertaining.
The dramaturgy is relevant. Animals are part of life on a real farm. "Animals are also likeable," says Daniel Meier. Jung von Matt and Unikat could not have known from each other that the new Migros films also focus on animals. But it doesn't matter. The films can even push each other, as Migros is also a consumer of Swiss fruit and vegetables.
The commercials were realized by Reto Salimbeni and his Manifesto Films. Filming took seven days with two 35mm cameras and a crew of 30 specialists. This included four animal trainers. They had 80 eggs hatched before Christmas and brought the geese into contact with dogs from a young age. After a month, the six "smartest" birds were selected and given their roles to study. They split into the character of Hans, just as Barry is played by two identical-looking dogs. The scenes, which were "acted" down to the second, are now made even more "human" in post-production with digital tricks - for example with a synchronized beak movement when speaking.
Andreas Panzeri
The fact that an animal film could offer an ideal solution for this project was the decisive factor for Unikat. As the commercials are also seen against the backdrop of the opening EU market, a lot of complex information had to be packed into the films. "We have to get the Swiss origin across and have to advertise various seasonal products," explains Reto Brühlmann, Head of Marketing at the Swiss Vegetable Producers Association. If you let people say that, it quickly turns into a boring "infomercial". That's why Unikat has invented seven little stories that use talking animals to make the topic much more entertaining.
The dramaturgy is relevant. Animals are part of life on a real farm. "Animals are also likeable," says Daniel Meier. Jung von Matt and Unikat could not have known from each other that the new Migros films also focus on animals. But it doesn't matter. The films can even push each other, as Migros is also a consumer of Swiss fruit and vegetables.
The commercials were realized by Reto Salimbeni and his Manifesto Films. Filming took seven days with two 35mm cameras and a crew of 30 specialists. This included four animal trainers. They had 80 eggs hatched before Christmas and brought the geese into contact with dogs from a young age. After a month, the six "smartest" birds were selected and given their roles to study. They split into the character of Hans, just as Barry is played by two identical-looking dogs. The scenes, which were "acted" down to the second, are now made even more "human" in post-production with digital tricks - for example with a synchronized beak movement when speaking.
Andreas Panzeri
