The spot depicts a group of women sat in a traditional style theatre as they open a pack of the new McVities ‘Nibbles’ range, waiting for a show to start. Much to their surprise a pair of adorably playful seals pop out of the packet and begin to put on a show of their own, frolicking to the sounds of Hot Chocolate ‘You Sexy Thing.'

The Mill’s 2D and 3D Teams went to extensive lengths to create a pair of seals which looked highly realistic but endearing and fun too, allowing humour to stay at the forefront of the spot.

Mill Joint 3D Lead Sam Driscoll explains, ‘We got in touch with a biologist at the University of Minnesota who was able to provide us with high resolution images which we used as reference for creating our CG seals. We also had a researcher collect as much footage of these animals as possible to give us an understanding of, not only their anatomy, but also their temperament and character.

We worked closley with Director Guy Manwaring to achieve a healthy balance between realism and appeal. Our proprietary fur tools and shaders were used along with Houdini to simulate the cute, blubbery moments of goodness!’

Mill Colourist James Bamford explains how the final look and feel of the spot was completed in the grade, 'I went for a sumptuous, rich and filmic grade which was in keeping with the theatre surroundings. The initial grade was set before the seals were created in CG so the seals had to be seamlessly embedded in after. Because of this, I had to work closely with the 2D Department to finalise the overall aesthetic of the spot.'