Nathan Love Director Anca Risca recently put her design aesthetic on display for a pair of Perdue spots in collaboration with The VIA Agency. Risca headed a small team of Nathan Love artists and animators that spirited the highly recognizable company chairman Jim Perdue into the animated world, along with an endearing cast of supporting characters.
Building upon basic animatics provided by the creatives at VIA, Risca and company infused brand-consistent style and character in both We Believe and Diet, delivering playful, animation-driven narratives about the quality assurance efforts at the Perdue facilities.
Both spots are studies in strong design executed with a smart and subtle sense of humor, trademarks of Risca’s previous animated work for Sweet ‘N Low, Oregon Lottery and Stridex. “Anca’s strength lies in capturing universally endearing personalities in the characters she creates,” notes Nathan Love ECD Joe Burrascano. “VIA selected Nathan Love in large part due to our experience developing great characters and bringing them to life. No one has proven as consistently great at this as Anca.”
Delivering a reliable representation of longtime company spokesman Jim Perdue was of particular importance in maintaining the company’s carefully constructed brand image. Risca and her team paid special attention to Jim’s animated counterpart, finding the right balance of detail and simplicity.
“We wanted to keep Mr. Perdue recognizable to the many people who are already familiar with him,” explains Risca. “To fulfill that, we raised his level of detail from the rest of the characters, who were designed to be simple and iconic representations. The extra detail gave him more humanity and made his features more distinguishable as a spokesman.”
As is Nathan Love’s custom, a strong back-and-forth with the agency played an important part in the creative and production process. “From the very first call with VIA, we started making magic,” states Risca. “They put their trust in us and there was always an easy exchange of thought-out ideas and feedback.”
Click to watch Perdue “Diet” and learn more about the project!
