Creative concept

Betfred’s new numbers game required a unique and distinguishable identity. Betfred brief outlined the need for a prominent main character, bold in personality with lots of energy.

When thinking of the best ways to bring this main character to life, we generated lots of initial concepts, some involving live action and some CGI – in the end we decided a mixture of both would create maximum impact. ‘Nifty’, the band’s lead singer, was born, ‘teddy boy’ inspired, human in body with a CGI Lotto-ball singing head.

Throughout the creative process we needed to ensure our ideas appealed to the right audience. Even though the advert needed to be fun and friendly, it was vital it did not appeal to children following the gambling commissions advertising guidelines. Having a live action element to the treatment, not just CGI, gave us a platform to do this.

Another key inspiration for creative was the 1950s. We set the scene of a glamourous 1950s dance hall, complete with a ‘teddy boy’ inspired band and rockabilly style jiving dancers. The music theme is an adapted version of Great Balls of Fire.

Production

At the beginning of the process, we focused on the live action elements. Sourcing the right location, actors, singers was all key in the first 7 days of pre-production.

The award winning Richard Oliver was appointed as Director and we worked closely with him throughout the production process. Richard’s experience in working on adverts of this nature and commitment to detail made him our perfect choice for the production.

To create the Nifty character, Zút used 3D tracking markers on the top half of the performers’ faces, leaving the bottom half uncovered to ensure Nifty’s mouth movements stayed realistic.

The whole process took around 6 weeks from commission. Shooting post COVID lockdown added an extra layer of complexity, but the Zút team adapted quickly to work efficiently in accordance with government guidelines for the TV and Film Industry