15 June 2009 - 3:45pm | by Staff Writer | 6 comments

Party Gaming launches global campaign with regional agencies

Home, The Mob and 422 are behind a new global campaign for the Party Casino and Party Poker brands, with ads directed by Paul WS Anderson.

It is the Event Horizon director's first work for a UK agency since signing with The Mob – which produced the ads – in December last year. His first ad was a VW spot for DDB Berlin shot in March.

Post production was split between 422 in Manchester, which handled the Party Casino ad, and London's Smoke & Mirrors and Triangle which worked on the Party Poker commercial.

Anderson shot the ads on blue screen over four days at Shepperton Studios in London and chose Fatboy Slim's 'Ya Mama' as the soundtrack.

“There was a lot to do in such a short space of time but, as a film director, Paul was more than capable of dealing with a tight deadline and the pressures they can bring,” said John Brocklehurst, managing director of The Mob, which is based in Manchester.

“He is currently taking time out from film-making to write, but loves to shoot and wanted to use the time to work on some commercials.”

Visual FX, CGI and audio were added by 422, with 30 and 60 second cuts made for broadcast on terrestrial and satellite TV channels as well as online.

John Sharp, creative director at 422, said: “Our challenge was to create a virtual visual casino environment with a series of animated casino games, such as roulette, blackjack and slots.

“We projected this onto a glass screen using elements of actual online game play and we even created 'cyber chips' that turned into real poker chips as the games came to life."

The ads are appearing on ITV, Channel 4, Sky, IDS and MTV channels in the UK, while 422 is now cutting idents for sponsorship deals around the world. 

Comments

Anonymous (not verified)
19 Jun 2009 - 12:05
Anonymous's picture

2 cool ads - really stand out in a market saturated with rubbish. Well done.

Anonymous (not verified)
19 Jun 2009 - 13:05
Anonymous's picture

I like 'em. A lot better than the usual black and white 'mood and attitude' gaming ads.

Anonymous (not verified)
19 Jun 2009 - 13:20
Anonymous's picture

I agree they sit well on TV and stand out from the deluge of gaming advertising at the mo and great to see an out of London agencies with such a big account

19 Jun 2009 - 13:25
alan_kittle's picture

If Spielberg could had gone forward in time and seen this ad before he made Minority Report, he might have rejected doing the whole "sliding virtual stuff around on glass" effect...

..."cyber chips" (good God).

True, it stands apart from the usual visual proposition, that because you're gambling in your home you can get away with only wearing a towel, and therefore probably satisfies the brief. But for all the fancy-named companies involved in making this commercial it still comes off a little cheap and nasty.

Sits well with ITV Play (or whatever that late night quiz channel is that I wake up on the couch watching after a night on the ale).

Anonymous (not verified)
19 Jun 2009 - 14:05
Anonymous's picture

I agree, great to see a huge global brand like Party using the services of a Leeds agency.

Anonymous (not verified)
19 Jun 2009 - 16:00
Anonymous's picture

Okay, so it's not going to be picking up awards, but it has genuine stand out and will do the job it needs to. Enough said.

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