Sixty40 does Splits for Bulla and The Bridge

The Bridge, Melbourne engaged Sixty40 to showcase one of Australia’s favourite classic ice-creams and to conjure up all the goodness of a great Aussie summer.  Now on air across the nation, the 15 second commercial promotes the Bulla Splits “Let’s Split’ This Summer” Promotion.

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Sixty40’s brief was to create a 15 second dynamic television commercial with a cut-through style.  The task was to redesign existing characters and bring them to life in several settings from a sweltering typical Australian backyard to the refreshing surf of the Gold Coast.

Sixty40 drew from their personal experiences to bring the commercial to life: “The first challenge was to create a uniquely Australian, yet modern family and environment,” says Sixty40 creative director, Mark Simpson.

“We wanted them to feel familiar and real to support the script. The Australian backyard is an image burnt into the subconscious of every Australian so this came quite naturally, and luckily one of our designers has just moved from the Gold Coast, so we had in-house consultancy about the final scene.”

One of the greatest challenges of the commercial was to tell a detailed story within the 15 second duration whilst leaving enough time to show off the product.

Matt Taylor, animation director, Sixty40 explains how their animation techniques take the viewer through progressive emotions before bursting into ‘Splits happiness’ on a Gold Coast beach: “Sixty40 created a hazy summery mood and then transitioned the viewer, using dynamic frosty ice-cream shots, into the cool summer relief of Queensland’s beaches. The spot leaves you thirsty for a cool frosty Split, so mission accomplished.”

The characters were built in 3D but rendered with an illustrated aesthetic to create a level of sophistication not normally seen in this sector. To fit into the heat of the day, everything was shaded with gradients and a bright strong summer key light framed the characters to make them pop out from the scene. 

Sixty40 heaped detail into the rendering of the product and invested time into pushing the levels of “frosty deliciousness” in every frame. The fresh colour palette, hyper-stylised modern Aussie family and mood of elation on receipt of the Splits ice-cream conjures up childhood memories of carefree days and ice-cream at the beach.

Client: The Bridge

Compositing: Dean Richichi