Defy Heartburn
With summer BBQ season in full effect, Sanofi and PureRed were looking to create a new campaign that spotlighted the way that Zantac 360 can save your day (and night). And what better way to show that than by creating the world’s first Heartburn Relief Superhero, Zan the Man
an ownable look and feel for our hero character and campaign, brought to life with 2D frame by frame animation.
To bring this hero to life, PureRed turned to Versus to both design Zan and create an ownable look and feel for Zantac to build off of as the campaign extended into social, digital, and experiential extensions. Inspired by Lichtenstein’s classic comic book aesthetic, the Versus team went to work laying out several character options that varied by gender, ethnicity, and superhero stylings. Zan quickly came into focus and, from there, Versus created a look that drew from a mixture of 2D frame by frame animation (cell animation), After Effects, and some 3D environmental animation. This mix of techniques allowed Versus to create a unique and detailed style of movement and action, while still tapping into a classic comic book sensibility.
The relatability of our characters and Zan’s heroism were the focal points of the campaign,
so the team made sure that character expression was front and center for all moments; tapping into Zan’s confidence and stoicism to project his strength and believability to the audience. The partygoers that he saves were equally important to bring to life in the story, as the audience’s surrogate dealing with caution about eating spicy foods, and the inevitable heartburn that comes from it.
