Jolly Ranchers – Chewy and crunchy / Turtle (2012) :30 (USA)

Don't F* with the Turtle

Jolly Ranchers – Chewy and crunchy, like a turtle. But they taste way better and won’t laser zap you. “Turtle” is the latest from director Olivier Agostini for Jolly Rancher.

“Turtle” was written and directed by Olivier Agostini as part of a crowdsourcing campaign for the brand. The brief for this project was centered around the concept that the new Jolly Rancher candy was crunchy and chewy.

“The words ‘a crunchy hard shell with a chewy inside’ kept making me think of a turtle”, says Agostini. “I've never owned a turtle, nor do I know anything about turtles, but I couldn't seem to shake this vivid picture from my imagination.”

After a week of brainstorming, Agostini came up with the concept for the spot you see here – a spot about a guy who's ominously staring at a turtle, wanting to eat it for its "crunchy and chewy" qualities, and a turtle who is trying to convince the guy not to eat him in favour of the Jolly Ranchers. “This could not just be any turtle,” adds Agostini. “I had to give the turtle some sort of power. And since the turtle was limited in terms of mobility (turtles aren't very good at karate) I figured lasers would be an easy and funny defense mechanism. And who doesn't love lasers?”

All the shots of the turtle are in-camera. The only effects being the smoke, sparks and lasers. “I felt it would never be as funny if a CG turtle was used or if we animated his mouth. For me, the more practical it looked, the funnier it was.”

CREDITS

Director: Olivier Agostini
Production Company: Weird Pictures
Copywriter: Olivier Agostini
Art Director: G.O. Burton
DP: Aaron Biller
Editor: Steven Cuellar
Production Designer: Jimmy L'ananas
Wardrobe Stylist: Marie-Pierre Agostini
VFX: Aaron Sjogren
Animal Wrangler: Stephanie Ghantous
SFX: Tyler Slade
Post: Co3