… A ribbon is something rare.
Commissioned for The National Lottery, via Agency AMV, this beautifully animated 60-second film is a charming way to advertise the National Lottery. The brief to Studio aka by AMV was very simple – ‘a character is given a bag of smiles and they hand them out to everyone they meet’.
The agency was keen that this be developed as an entertaining animated ‘story of generosity – and we love this kind of simplicity in a brief – so director Marc Craste chose to pick up on this openness, suggesting a route which played to our character design and animation strengths. The resulting film leaps out of the screen, armed with enough wit and charm to set even the saddest toes tapping…
The Big Win is an AKA classic – and one of our favourites – but don’t take our word for it, here are some reviews:
“… Sometimes an inspired client will tender a brief to a group of exceptionally talented designers and animators, and the work that emerges is proof of what good casting and minimal intervention can do when handled with confidence. Studio AKA’s astoundingly appealing ‘The Big Win’ is all that and more.”
— CreativeCOW.net
“…one of the most charming pieces of CG animation I’ve seen in a while. It was directed by Marc Craste, of Jo Jo In The Stars fame. The brief from the commissioning ad agency, AMV, was simple: “A man is given a bag of smiles and he hands them out to everyone he meets.” Craste and crew delivered big on that idea with a commercial that is filled with lovely art direction, character animation with personality, and elegant visual storytelling. Man, what I’d give to see the makers of full-length CG films create animation with as much vitality and invention as this commercial.”
— Cartoon Brew
