→
Since 2022, Final Frontier, Zombie and the agency Karma have charmed audiences with a series of animated shorts featuring an elderly feline couple, each focused on love-themed special occasions for the phone brand vivo.
This latest film “Cat King” was released on the internet-coined “520 festival” , a kind of an unofficial Valentine’s Day in China – inspired by the fact that 520 in Chinese sounds like 我爱你 wǒ ài nǐ, which means “I love you”.
With this romantic set up, this third film showcases the lovely couple, as known as Grandma Cat and Grandpa Cat, on a heartwarming new adventure, highlighting the exceptional camera capabilities of the vivo X100 mobile phone.
Through vivid visual effects and storyline, the story features the idol “Cat King,” a flurry feline version of Elvis Presley.
In China, Presley is commonly referred to as “Cat King,” a combination of his early days alias “the Hillbilly Cat” and the later “the King”.
At the Maoshan Cat Sea’s gig, Cat King is wearing Presley’s iconic 1972 red jumpsuit outfit. Looks wonderfully outrageous.
But, soon the conflict arises when the couple’s attempts to get closer in order to see the show…
Storytelling plays a key role in this ad, effectively engaging the audience and highlighting the main features of the product through the plot.
Accompanied by the most approachable and warm pictures and lens language, it not only retains the adorable characters, but also cleverly uses the new mobile’s feature, as the biggest story reversal – solving the plot’s conflict and showing the main selling point of the product as a concert photography tool – with a humorous and heartwarming twist.
At Final Frontier we meticulously crafted this two-minute CGI film, with an overall super-cute atmosphere: the exquisite details, from fine hair rendering to the delicate expressions, and the introduction of the Elvis-inspired Cat King, significantly enhance the film’s quality and immersive appeal.
From the luminous plants, flowers and butterflies to the Elvis hot air balloon, the creation of the singing stage and the iconic vivo billboard, all elements were carefully designed, showing our love for storytelling and production value.
“Cat King” marks the third collaboration between Final Frontier, KARMA and vivo, following the first episode in 2022, in which Grandpa desperately seeks a solution for his annual wedding anniversary photograph, before divine intervention sends him the new x80 device.
The second collaboration on this feline love story “A delightful gift” showcased vivo’s x90 device, with a focus on its low-light shooting effectiveness, picking up prizes at One Asia International Creative Awards, Long Xi Creative Award, DIGITALING Awards, and London International Awards (LIA).
Production Co.: Final Frontier
Agency: KARMA
Animation Studio: Zombie
Director: Paulo Garica
Music + Sound Design: Antfood