From the agency’s smallest seed of desire to bring to life a group of avocados, Mill director Matt Darnall developed scripts, carved out characters, sketches and gave these infamously temperamental fruits into a lovable bunch.
Every phase, from pre-pro to finish, required very specific expertise from The Mill’s artists. From early pencil sketches for character design; to storyboard and animatic development in editorial; to sculpting, modeling, rigging, animation, look development in CG, the wealth of the The Mill’s talents were used.
A zesty, funny series of social media and web assets that can be built upon, and opens the door for exploring Mill Mascot opportunities.
Wholly Guacamole
BBDO San Francisco
The Mill
Matt Darnall
Design / CG / Colour
On the project, Matt Darnall says, ‘Occasionally you can be graced by the avocado gods and be granted a flawless beauty. But just as often, they can bet too hard, too soft, too bruised, too mushy. These finicky characteristics made a great foundation for character designs.
For instance, Mushy Merideth was inspired by extremely soft avocados. That trait made for an overly sentimental character, that is a bit of an emotional (and physical) mess. What about those avocados that are very hard, like little bowling balls? They make for an unappealing snack AND a bad to the bone bossy gal named Serious Susan. You don’t want to eat her or get in her way. Seriously.
Nervous Noah was one of my personal favorites. He was inspired a funny ritual in our kitchen at The Mill around lunch time. It’s not uncommon to see a little plate set aside with half an avocado on it. Just a simple charitable act, right? This avocado is usually mangled! Chunks missing. Scratches on the pit. Completely brutalized and left for dead after garnishing a hungry artists salad. I can’t help but feel for that little guy! That has to be a traumatic experience. So now we have Nervous Noah, twitches and all.”
Speak to The Mill’s Design Studio