Furry. Inherited. And lovable.
The “Gus: The Second Most Famous Groundhog in Pennsylvania” Campaign was created when we pitched the Lottery account, and it won the business. Inherited from the team who created it (for who I still have great respect), it was a lot of fun to carry it on throughout the years. A puppet at first (the “Poconos” spot below), times and tech changed, so we brought him into the CG world. It was important to create a balance – designing Gus’ look to be different enough from the puppet, and still holding on to the character’s existing caché. Below are some of the sketches and retouches I did while working with the 3d vendor, and then some of the resulting spots. I really enjoyed being a brand steward with this little guy for the last two decades+.
