Continental Tyres20/09/11

Palmer Hargreaves approached us to create multiple idents for Continental and their sponsorship of “71 Degrees North” on UK TV channel ITV. The project, which included 4 animations, was taken from concept to final delivery in just 3 weeks. Working closely with Palmer Hargreaves, TJ was able to develop the look, mood and style of each piece, giving them each their own personality whilst maintaining a crucial level of continuity.

With these ads marking the first example of a winter tyre being advertised on UK TV, the message and look had to be clear. Right from the start, we compiled a mood board of styles that would not only sell the message of winter, but also provide a welcome moment of calm amid the plethora of other adverts. Sticking to a cool, frosty, crisp feel meant they could play with the aesthetics to really produce a magical winter scene. This final mood also had to be reflected in the sound design; marrying the crunching of fallen snow and twinkle of snowflakes with the rumbling of a rolling tyre and the rush of arctic wind. Great care had to be taken to ensure the design came out ‘magical’ and not ‘Ice Road Truckers’.

Attention to detail was paramount, working with such a tight (and inflexible) schedule meant that we had to hit the right levels of detail and perfect the look early on to keep the client happy. The CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) animations take four different forms; Teaser, Breaking, Handling and Reveal. In order to maintain a consistency between the different scenes, the tyre rig had all the particle generators incorporated into it. This had the added benefit of huge time savings when animating, especially when adapting the route for client feedback.

When trying to achieve so much within a tight time scale it’s incredibly important to be working with a good agency. Palmer Hargreaves proved to be an excellent partner in this respect; quick feedback and concise comments meant all the deadlines were hit on time. Client feedback has been excellent with the final results far exceeding expectations!

Here’s hoping the contestants perform as well on the show as the little wheel does in the ads, though you know what celebrities are like; they tyre easily.