Capital One’s unexpected pet

Buying a puppy from a mysterious man you found through a billboard ad... what could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot actually, as the protagonist of Fold7's brilliant campaign from American bank Capital One discovers. 

Emphasising the importance of doing your due diligence when making an important decision, the spot, directed by Ninian Doff of Reset, blends comedic performances, fantastic VFX and a deadpan VO to follow a man who accidentally adopts a four-legged friend of the woodland variety. 

Black Kite Studios were brought onboard to create the CG badger and VFX for the project. Photographing a European Badger skeleton at the Grant Museum of Zoology allowed them to accurately trace the animal’s proportions usually hidden by fur. The team and director collaborated closely to portray the realistic personality and appearance of the badger.  

An actor’s expressions were used as a base for the animation, and the CG team then created a set of facial movements that allowed the badger to emote. After crafting and rendering the badger into each shot, the 2D team used the interaction, shadows and lighting references of the onset badger pelt to achieve the photoreal creature featured in the film.