Renegade Animation took Wienerschnitzel back to the ’60s in an animated advertising campaign for the restaurant chain. Conceived by Orange County, Calif. agency DGWB, the commercials use retro animation and jingles to evoke Wienerschnitzel’s 1961 origins.
One spot spoofs vintage TV westerns as a hot dog named Big Angus arrives in a southwestern town wearing a ten-gallon hat and packing a ketchup dispenser where his shootin’ iron ought to be. Another spot is a send-up of an MGM-style musical with a guy in top hat and tuxedo starring in an elaborate production number about Wienerschnitzel’s million dollar “Cash in on a Corn Dog” sweepstakes.
“We love doing fun stuff and the retro look is very much up our alley,” said Renegade Animation executive producer Ashley Postlewaite. “Creating the ads was a super collaborative process with the agency and the jingle house.”
The jingles were written by bi-coastal music producer Singing Serpent and range in style from surfer rock to a breezy, sit-com-flavored pop song. Renegade’s animation team drew their visual cues from the music. “We took the songs and ran with them,” recalled director Darrell Van Citters. “DGWB gave us a lot of freedom. We got to push color and design, and tell fun stories.”
Renegade Animation produced the campaign using the flash animation techniques, art direction and genial humor that are its hallmarks. “The campaign has a little of everything,” Van Citters said. “The western song made us think of the southwest and its amazing sunsets. So rather than go for a ‘High Noon’ look where everything is brightly lit, we took a different direction. The whole thing is bathed in a beautiful southwestern sunset.”
“We had a great client, a great agency and a great jingle house,” Van Citters added. “It was everything you want in an advertising project—everybody brought something to the party. There’s nothing like these spots on the air.”
Renegade Animation recently completed the first season of The Tom and Jerry Show (based on the classic Hanna-Barbera characters) for Cartoon Network, as well as a national commercial for Geico. It also produced animated pilots for Amazon, Nickelodeon and PBS.
