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Tennent's lager advertisement from 2001 featuring the voices of Ken Stott, Ewen Bremner, Amanda Burton and Kevin McKidd. A spoof of popular television detective shows "Taggart" and "Silent Witness"
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Ken's played all the heavy roles.. now he's a lager; Wallace and Gromit team create talking pint

Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland), Sept 16, 2001
Byline: BILLY PATERSON Exclusive

TV TOUGH guy Ken Stott is used to playing heavies but his latest role is a real departure.

Ken, who stars as Inspector Pat Chappel in ITV drama The Vice, provides the voice of an animated pint of lager in the latest Tennent's ad campaign.

The walking, talking pints are the brainchild of the Wallace and Gromit team.

Animators at Bristol-based Aardman Animations - who also made the smash-hit movie Chicken Run - were recruited to dream up the brewers' pounds 1million ads. The company used new animation techniques to bring pint glasses to life.

And actors Ewen Bremner, Amanda Burton and Kevin McKidd joined Stott to provide the voices.

Silent Witness star Amanda plays a pint that's definitely worth pulling. And the part should not present too much of a challenge for Amanda who, as pathologist Dr Sam Ryan, always keeps a cool head.

Sandra Mitchell, marketing manager for Tennent's lager, said: "The new ad is completely different to what we have done in the past and we are sure people will enjoy it.

"Without giving too much away, because we want to keep the element of surprise, the best way to describe the advert is a cross between Taggart and Wallace and Gromit."

This will be Aardman's first piece of work for a Scottish brand. Commercial director Darren Walsh said: "It was one of the most exciting and challenging scripts I had seen in a long time.

"Showing the product in the best possible light is never a simple task."

The animators used real pints of Tennent's lager and simulated the characters' movements through sets done to scale based on the streets of Glasgow.

Computer-generated graphics were then used to add the arms, legs and mouths, bringing the characters to life.

Darren added: "The whole process was hilarious with the puppeteers desperately giving convincing performances with pints balanced on sticks, trying not to spill a drop.

"This gave the 'pintling' characters an air of vulnerability.

"The result speaks for itself and shows how great the fusion was between the spontaneity of the live puppet performance and the humour and skill of our animators."

The new advert will hit cinema screens on Friday and be aired on the small screen in November.

thanks to Geniusmentis

 


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