ATLANTA — Awesome Inc., (
www.awesomeinc.com) and Wieden+Kennedy Portland recently teamed up on behalf of Kentucky Fried Chicken to create a five-minute animated Web video that pays homage to a Marietta, GA, landmark. The beloved 56-foot-tall steel chicken is a local icon, originally constructed in 1963. KFC franchise owner and VP of marketing for KBP Foods, Anthony Gianino, recently reopened the “Big Chicken” KFC restaurant, following a $2.2 million renovation.
The new animated short, Big Chicken Small Movie, is designed to celebrate the Georgia town and its giant steel chicken. From the beginning, the intention was to make the short film as Atlanta-focused as possible. Awesome Inc, is an Atlanta-based studio known for both its series and commercial work. The project debuted on Sunday, August 6th, which was National Friendship Day.
In the short (www.bigchickensmallmovie.com), a young boy sits outside of the restaurant, looking up to the big chicken while drawing sketches in admiration. As the day gets late, the boy heads home, accidentally leaving some of his drawings behind. The chicken is drawn to the boy’s appreciation and decides to visit him at his home, causing all sorts of damage on the way. When the boy sees the chicken’s eye peering through his window, he couldn’t be happier to see his big friend and thus, they embark on a number of adventures, including a trip through the forest, catching some fish, eating some snacks and flying kites. Only when the boy sees a flier reporting the chicken missing does he realize that he needs to bring him back to the store where everyone can appreciate him.
“I think every Atlantan has a tender spot for that giant bird, so it was an honor to try to do it proud,” says W&K copywriter Mike Egan, who was born and raised in Atlanta. “Also, I’m excited to show all my friends from high school that I made it to the top — even if it’s just the top of the Big Chicken.”
“We were so excited when W+K reached out to us about the Big Chicken project,” says Awesome Inc founder/EP Ashley Kohler. “As a native Atlantan, I’ve grown up knowing and loving the giant KFC icon. Having this opportunity to work with a world-class agency on a local symbol, something dear to our hearts, was like winning the lottery. We can’t say enough about how collaborative, kind, and supportive W+K has been, how incredible the people we’ve met from KFC were, or how beautiful the renovation is at the franchise. We hope everyone gets a chance to see it at some point!”
The video runs just over five minutes long and was created using a combination of Adobe CC’s After Effects, Photoshop, and Illustrator, along with Maxon’s Cinema 4D. Craig Sheldon was director, designer and lead storyboard artist for Awesome Inc. Animators included Sheldon, Chris Anderson, Joshua Mullinax, Mark McDonald, Edgar Ferrer, Nathan Churney and Jeff DiMaggio. Thomas Fine edited the project.
Bluetube created the original soundtrack, including music and sound design. The studio used Avid Pro Tools to complete the soundtrack.