Dallas-based Reel FX helped create a new Chevrolet commercial featuring a LEGO Batmobile focus group.
It’s part of the carmaker’s Real People Real Chevy ad campaign, but instead of it being people talking about the vehicles, Batman reacts to LEGO minifigures critiquing who would drive the over-the-top Batmobile.
“They’ve been doing this commercial for so long they wanted to do a parody of their own spot,” Producer Samantha Daniel said. “He gets defensive because they’re all judging what kind of person he is.”
“They’ve been doing this commercial for so long they wanted to do a parody of their own spot,”
SAMANTHA DANIEL
It’s a cross-promotion tie in for Chevrolet and the LEGO Batman film that’s coming to theaters Feb. 10.
Warner Brothers and Chevrolet’s ad agency Commonwealth McCann partnered with ReelFX to create the commercial. The spot directs viewers to Chevy’s website where people can virtually configure their own Lego Batmobile, according to AdAge.
ReelFX started with a script and then developed the storyboards.
A team of eight animators brought Batman and other minifigures to life. At one point, Batman uses his grappling hook to leap on top of the Batmobile to emphasize how cool it is.
It took about four months to make the 60-second spot. There are also 30- and 15-second versions.
“We had a lot of fun on that project,” Daniel said. “The hardest part was trying to match the look for how the characters were in the film. Our studio has done a lot of work promoting feature films in the commercial area for other studios.”
The commercial debuted at the Detroit Auto Show along with a life-size Batmobile made of LEGOs.
In addition to making commercials, Reel FX also does its own movies, including The Book of Life from 2014 and Free Birds from 2013.
Reel FX also creates its own virtual reality content.
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The LEGO Batman Movie: Behind the Bricks
The LEGO Batman Movie opens February 10. Warner Brothers has debuted a new “Behind the Bricks” featurette for the making of Chris McKay’s The LEGO Batman Movie.
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