Santander Bank wanted to bring respect bank to banking. They recognized that how a bank treats its customers and their money in every interaction is critical, no matter the size of their bank account.

Our “Piggy” character walks a fine line between the recognizable ceramic piggy banks of childhood and a photorealistic animal. Anything too cartoony wouldn’t draw viewers into the emotion of the story. We needed to create a unique and peculiar character with real feelings that didn’t read “piggy bank” too early on. References for modeling and texture spanned creatures from puppies to hippos - to establish skin textures, a fine ‘fuzz’ of fur, suitable proportions and a workable range of motion, to allow the character space to perform. Animation tests informed the shoot, where VFX artists supervised to facilitate a smooth post process.

The sheer number of Piggy ‘looks’ in the spot - dirty, wet, cracked, smashed - allowed artists to demonstrate subtle and intelligent nuance in the creature. Which had viewers declaring their love of “piggy” and the emotional story to social media every time the spot aired.