Coco-Cola 'Videogame' UK Debut

The multi award-winning Coca-Cola 'Videogame' commercial directed by Nexus Productions' Smith & Foulkes that puts a striking new slant on the violent world of computer games is making its UK TV debut today.
The fully computer animated commercial, which will run for six weeks, was created in HD for Wieden & Kennedy (Portland) and first played out during the 2006 US Super Bowl. It has since run in a number of other global markets, although never before in the UK. The timing coincides with the global launch of Grand Theft Auto IV on 29 April.
The commercial follows Ray, a menacing computer game tough guy. After a swig of Coca Cola he embarks on a rampage not of expected violence and destruction but of love, kindess, song and dance. While the landscape in the commercial resembles the urban landscape of current computer games, the characters have a far wider range of emotion and expression.
Smith & Foulkes said: "The script was a great opportunity to have a laugh at the expense of violent computer games. We asked ourselves the question, 'What would happen if every street punk, gun-toting hood, tough-guy cop and perpetually terrorised innocent bystander all got together for a good sing-a-long?'
"It was important that the urban landscape resembled that of current computer games but we wanted the characters to have wider range of emotion and expression. They are, after all, breaking out of their typical computer game behaviour.
"To get the end sequence right we worked with a choreographer and filmed dancers who interpreted the moves for individual characters.”
Executive producer was Chris O’Reily.
(DS/JM)