The Pitch We Almost Turned Down

By Dion (Founder & Creative Director), Ellie Motion

If I reflect on this job: we were first approached by Abundant Productions, where I used to work. I still have a good relationship with people there, and still get advice from my ex-boss whenever I feel stuck.

Abundant’s producer brought us a pitch we would normally have turned down. An anime, hand-drawn looking TVC for KFC, within a short timeline. It was resource intensive, cel frame by frame animation, needing artists proficient not just in animation but in drawing and concept too.

One of the early direction boards we pitched, before a single frame was animated.

We took time to digest the brief. I had lunch with Yoong, a friend from a past job, and he was excited about the idea. We both wanted to try a few things quickly, proof of concepts with AI tools, thinking through the workflow and pipeline we'd later combine with our 3D and motion design skills.

Early motion tests. We mixed AI generative animation with CGI, like the burger patty, so the product still looked accurate.

We presented what we tested. The agency and Abundant Productions were happy with it, presented it to the client, and they loved it too.

Part of the pitch, mapping how the story would move from a Japanese holiday scene into a Singapore MRT scene.

This was one of the first projects where we felt uncertain, yet willing to risk it, betting that AI could help us move fast enough combined with our 3D and motion design skills, to deliver this in such a short time with minimal resources. Some of my team were on leave, so I was juggling multiple tasks while working on this with Yoong, before we ended up hiring him as art director for the job.

Reference and mood exploration, Mount Fuji, Tokyo at night, Chikin Land in the clouds, Singapore HDB with the MRT passing by.

I wouldn't say the process was as polished as how the final TVC looks. It was a messy process, a lot of cleanup, redrawing, manual work going back and forth alongside the AI generations. Nothing like how clean the final film looks.

Getting the burger itself right took the most back and forth of anything in the film.

But it was a success, and praised by KFC's GM. They tagged us in the post and asked us to do behind the scenes videos.

I think it gained good traction because people were debating whether it was AI or not, and whether a brand like KFC was being lazy using AI. But KFC pushed it, took the risk with us, and let people keep debating. They made the claim themselves: made by real talents at Ellie Motion.

Despite the mess and the debates, we figured out what makes good work: orchestrating the tools together, AI being one of them, to augment our skills and capabilities. I hold the same principle from when CGI and visual effects were hot, when people argued whether an explosion was real or VFX. Now AI is in the same equation.

This is what AI in advertising actually looks like from the inside, not the version people argue about online. It's slower, messier, and more human than it looks.

See the finished campaign on our Work page → KFC - Oiishi Zinger