Monkeystack partnered with State Opera South Australia for G&S FEST, a 10-day celebration of the founding fathers of British comedy opera, Gilbert & Sullivan, producing an animated TVC that encapsulated the flamboyant fun that G&S are so well known for.
The overarching creative compliments the ‘pop-up book’ set designs and the Victoria era visual language from classic G&S theatre posters, highlighting the productions, events and venues included in the festival program as well as icons within the City of Adelaide, set to the instantly recognisable music from two of the leading G&S productions, Pirates of Penzance and H.M.S. Pinafore.
We wanted the audience to see Adelaide through the eyes of Gilbert and Sullivan!
We produced the animation as a continuous shot, panning from left to right throughout a panoramic landscape of Adelaide built from individual assets with the hero shots of each production popping up in a paper cut style. The scene included historical photos of Adelaide in the late 1800s as a nod to the era of G&S’s fame, festival venues Her Majesty’s Theatre and the Supreme & District Court Rooms, iconic Adelaide landmarks including the Adelaide Oval and Elder Park’s rotunda as well as the various statues of Rundle Mall including the pigs and the Malls Balls.
As a partner of the project, we had the pleasure of hosting cast member Douglas McNicol, who plays the Major General, to our studios to create some fun behind the scenes style social media content.
The TVC went live across VOD platforms (SBS On Demand), social media channels and on the digital screens in front of Her Majesty’s Theatre. The State Opera South Australia loved the commercials artwork so much that they requested a flat artwork version for printed 70cm x 20cm posters and stubby holders to be available to purchase as official merchandise.