Oregon Looks Like Something Out of a Miyazaki Film in This Magical Travel Ad

The Draws of the State Are 'Only Slightly Exaggerated' in Ad From Wieden & Kennedy

Published On
Mar 13, 2018

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Giant leaping rabbits, a wizard who drops nature bombs from the sky and a gargantuan cycling caterpillar are among the denizens of this film's fantasyland, seemingly pulled straight from the vault of Japanese animation genius Hayao Miyazaki. But they're actually the stars of a new spot from Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, which happens to be set not in Japan, but in Oregon.

The new ad, "Only Slightly Exaggerated," comes from Travel Oregon and takes creative license in highlighting the natural wonders to be found in the pacific northwest state, from the flora and fauna, to its wine country and the outdoor activities on offer. Animation was created out of Psyop and Sun Creature, with direction by Psyop's Kylie Matulick and Todd Mueller.

The ad also shows off another draw of the state, the Oregon Symphony, which created the original score.

"The brief for this project was extremely open and inspiring," says Psyop's Mueller. The W&K team "was looking for something artfully magical [and] wanted to convey the beauty of Oregon with a sense of natural magic and wonder.

"One of the more challenging aspects to this piece was finding a way to bring a lot of magic into the world without any of it feeling cheesy or contrived," he says. "There is a fine line between just enough and way too much when it comes to magical fantasies. It's like cooking with lavender, or adding nitrous to your engine. Using the right amount can be incredible but use too much and it's disastrous."

The production took about five months, but Psyop was able to pull it off, along with the talents at Sun Creature. The research, naturally, entailed learning more about Oregon. "We wanted to spend a couple days exploring some of the amazing sights Oregon has to offer," he says. "So we all piled in a van and headed up to Mt. Hood and Lake Trillium. Of course we got hit by a massive snow storm. It was a total white out and the road down to the lake was closed off but even in those conditions Oregon was magical."

The campaign is running in Portland, San Francisco, Seattle and Phoenix on television, in cinema, digital and out of home. Other elements include online, GIFs, short animations and more.

"We thought Oregon deserved better than just another travel ad," says W+K Art Director Nick Stokes in a statement. "So we turned to animation to try and capture its magic."

Credits

Date
Mar 13, 2018
Brand :
Travel Oregon
Client :
Travel Oregon
Agency :
Wieden & Kennedy-Portland
Director :
Kylie Matulick
Director :
Todd Mueller
Production Company :
Psyop
Production Company :
Sun Creature
Creative Director :
Jason Kreher
Writer :
Ansel Wallenfang
Art Director :
Nick Stokes
Producer :
Nicole Kaptur
Account Team :
Kimmy Cunningham
Account Team :
Lindsay Varquez
Creative Manager :
Leola Ristau
Executive Creative Director :
Jason Bagley
Executive Creative Director :
Eric Baldwin
Managing Director :
Neysa Horsburgh
Executive Producer :
Lucy Clark
Head of Production :
Drew Bourneuf
Producer :
Nick Read
Associate Producer :
Lara Arikan
Designer :
Joe Ball
Designer :
Devon Manney
Designer :
Andrew Park
Designer :
Robin Thompson
2D Supervisor :
Ryan Raith
Storyboard Artist :
Max Forward
Compositor :
Ryan Raith
Compositor :
Joe Ball
Compositor :
Sarah Blank
Compositor :
Tommy Wooh
Flame Artist :
Kim Stevenson
Editor :
Brett Nicoletti
Editor :
Lance Pereira
Assistant Editor :
Rob Cavedo
Executive Producer :
Guillaume Dousse
Executive Producer :
Charlotte de la Gournerie
Producer :
Guillaume Dousse
Associate Producer :
Simon Lee Bresling
Line Producer :
Charlotte Sanchez
Production Manager :
Fie Ørnsø
Art Director :
Simon Lee Bresling
Art Director :
Guillaume Dousse
Animation Supervisor :
Liane-Cho Han
Animation Supervisor :
Kenneth Ladekjær
Background Supervisor :
Patrice Suau
Storyboard Artist :
Liane-Cho Han
Color Script Artist :
Daniel Cacouault
Concept Artist :
Patrice Suau
Concept Artist :
Daniel Cacouault
Concept Artist :
Thomas Reteuna
Concept Artist :
Ben Marsaud
Concept Artist :
Mourad Elias Seddiki
Concept Artist :
Simon Masse
Concept Artist :
Leïla Courtillon
Concept Artist :
Linnea Sterte
Concept Artist :
Luca Vitale
Concept Artist :
Lucas Durkheim
Concept Artist :
Samuel Klughertz
Character Designer :
Kenneth Ladekjær
Character Designer :
Luca Vitale
Layout Background Artist :
Simon Masse
Layout Background Artist :
Jean-Michel Boesch
Layout Background Artist :
Linnea Sterte
Layout Background Artist :
Thomas Reteuna
Layout Background Artist :
Jade Khoo
Layout Posing Artist :
Kenneth Ladekjær
Layout Posing Artist :
Pierre Rütz
Layout Posing Artist :
Mourad Elias Seddiki
Background Painter :
Patrice Suau
Background Painter :
Simon Masse
Background Painter :
Thomas Reteuna
Background Painter :
Matthew Vince
Background Painter :
Grace Liu
Background Painter :
Sylvain Fabre
Background Painter :
Théo Boubounelle
Background Painter :
Alexis Liddell
Character Animator :
Pierre Rütz
Character Animator :
Christoffer Elsborg Kramme
Character Animator :
Mourad Elias Seddiki
Character Animator :
Thibaud Petitpas
Character Animator :
Kenneth Ladekjær
Character Animator :
Cyrille Chauvin
Effects Animator :
Thibaud Petitpas
Effects Animator :
Olivier Malric
Effects Animator :
Rachid Guendouze
Effects Animator :
Ines Scheiber
Effects Animator :
Stéphane Chung
Effects Animator :
Kenneth Ladekjær
Effects Animator :
Touraj Khosravi
Clean-up Artist :
Christoffer Elsborg Kramme
Clean-up Artist :
Kay Sales
Clean-up Artist :
Laura Büchert Schjødt
Clean-up Artist :
Nawell Sdiri
Clean-up Artist :
Marick Queven
Clean-up Artist :
Sandrine Han Jin Kuang
Clean-up Artist :
Mette Ilene Holmriis
Color Detail Animator :
Christoffer Elsborg Kramme
Color Detail Animator :
Kay Sales
Color Detail Animator :
Laura Büchert Schjødt
Color Detail Animator :
Nawell Sdiri
Color Detail Animator :
Sandrine Han Jin Kuang
Color Detail Animator :
Mette Ilene Holmriis
Color Detail Animator :
Pierre Rütz
Color Detail Animator :
Mikkel Mainz Elkjaer
Animation Color Artist :
Christoffer Elsborg Kramme
Animation Color Artist :
Kay Sales
Animation Color Artist :
Laura Büchert Schjødt
Animation Color Artist :
Nicoline de Selsted Lind
Animation Color Artist :
Mette Ilene Holmriis
Animation Color Artist :
Mikkel Mainz Elkjaer
Senior Compositing Artist :
Birk Von Brockdorff
Senior Compositing Artist :
Paul Ó Muiris
Music House :
Walker
Music Supervisor :
Sara Matarazzo
Executive Producer :
Sara Matarazzo
Composer :
James Dooley
Orchestrator :
Tim Davies
Mixer :
Steve Kaplan
Live Recording :
Oregon Symphony
Performed and Recorded :
Arlene Schnitzer Hall
Vice President :
Steve Wenig
General Manager, Oregon Symphony :
Steve Wenig
Director :
Jacob Blaser
Production Manager Oregon Symphony :
Jacob Blaser
Stage Manager Oregon Symphony :
Brent Bowden
Audio Engineer Oregon Symphony :
Tim Boot
Mix Company :
Lime
Mixer :
Matt Miller
Assistant Mixer :
Lisa Mermelstein
Producer :
Susie Boyajan
Producer :
Kayla Phungglan

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