Hasta La Creative!

To promote Virgin Media’s “comprehensive new bundle of technology services” BBH London teamed up with creative company th2ng (pronounced “thing two”) for a visceral visual demonstration of just how big the bundle package is.

They created a series of five online spots, “Conceived, devised, and delivered on an extremely tight deadline” that show the inflation of a series of everyday items to the breaking point. While the end results of continuously inflating the items — which include  a pair of dishwashing gloves, a standard suitcase, a hot water bottle, and a six-foot tall dinosaur — is predictable, it makes for suspenseful viewing since you don’t know when the explosive moment will occur. Directors Dan Lumb and Crinan Campbell say that, despite the time constraints, this was still “the project of their dreams.”

Following the launch of the first video in the series on June 16th, viewers had the opportunity to vote online for what they would like to see explode next. You can watch the original video above, and stick around for more explosions and credits after the jump. (more…)

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Th1ng director/animator Sylvain Chomet received a personal request from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening to animate the iconic “couch gag” that concludes the opening credits of the show, now entering its 26th season. Obviously, you don’t turn down a personal request from Matt Groenig, so the three-time Oscar nominee Chomet offered up a distinctly French take on the gag, which was just revealed online today.

Chomet joins an illustrious list of individuals invited by Groening to animate the sequence, including Bill Plympton, Banksy, and Guillermo Del Toro. Indeed, in recent years the couch gag has all too often overshadowed the rest of the episode. Executive producer Dominic Buttimore (Bart Simpson would have a field day with that one), a longtime collaborator, “worked closely with Chomet to create and storyboard the concept for the animation sequence, which was immediately met with ‘laughter and appreciation’ by Groening and Simpsons’ longtime show-runner/producer Al Jean. Jean went as far as to call the experience a “dream come true.”

The new couch gag (featured above) is one of the show’s best, thanks to some great jokes and Chomet’s inimitable animation style. It will air during the episode “Diggs” this Sunday, March 9th. Stick around after the jump for credits and couch gags from Plympton and Banksy. continued…

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