New Lentheric fragrance animates advertising

"We decided on an animated television ad so that we can stand out from the rest. We wanted to try something totally unconventional and fresh for fragrance advertising," says Justine Worrall, Marketing Manager for Lenthéric. "We wanted to reflect the fun-loving, feisty, swish personality of a Hoity Toity girl, which could be captured by an animated character," added Worrall.

Advertising agency, Bester Burke, was tasked to bring the Hoity Toity girl to life in the hands of local artist Riccardo Capecchi. Capecchi, Animation Director of Capechino Animation, has worked all over the world including projects involving Disney, Pillsburg USA and Kellogg's Milan.

"The brief was exciting. I had to find a figure that would work with the product and at the same time appeal to the consumer," said Capecchi. "It was a strange feeling as right from the very first pencil line, it felt like I knew the character," added Capecchi.

The animation process is time consuming and poses many challenges, as every single element in the production has to be designed animated, coloured and then transferred digitally to tape. The process begins with character creation, which in this case, was inspired by the name of the fragrance giving Capecchi the feeling of the Jazz Clubs of the 20's.

"The name of the fragrance was a combination of trends taken from fashion, accessories, lingerie and décor. The name was extensively used in international magazines to describe various fashion items," says Worrall. "I liked it and we immediately checked registration. The name seemed to work with the concept that the designer and I had in mind for the packaging of the fragrance, not to mention the European connotation," added Worrall.

Created to the sounds of a live band, the Hoity Toity commercial plays off against a French backdrop with the very feminine yet eccentric Hoity Toity girl who is partly femme-fatale, quite girlish and totally indulgent.

"We are confident that the commercial meets the aspiration levels necessary for launching a fragrance and it is different enough to cut through the clutter. We are impressed that the entire production is South African made," says Susan O'Keeffe, Marketing Director of Indigo Cosmetics.

The television commercial launches on the 20th of November followed by in-store material using the images from the ad. Future plans include a print campaign for the international markets.