Not To Scale Gives My Little Pony a Pop Star Makeover for Very.co.uk

Directed by Anthony Farquhar-Smith and produced by Not To Scale in collaboration with St Luke’s, this stop-motion spot for Very.co.uk breathes life into a selected trio of their products. Adding some magic to shine a new light on each item, director Anthony develops the 2 for 3 ‘Mix and Match’ concept to bring them together in a humorous and surprising situation. The resulting combination – of ordinary objects coming together as something quite the opposite - communicates the brand’s mission statement of providing a fun shopping destination that helps you “get more out of every day”.

“My idea was to let the viewer assume this was an ordinary product-led ad before suddenly bringing in the humour by changing the lighting to disco colours and having the My Little Pony swish her hair rhythmically to the lines of Iggy Azalea’s “I’m so fancy.” After her moment of glory there is a ‘drop the mike’ moment as the music is killed, the lights go back to normal and the little magic disco moment returns to normality,” said Anthony Farquhar-Smith, Director.

Hair is notoriously difficult to work with in stop-motion animation. However, Anthony’s experience in creating films for the likes of Samsung, HSBC, BBC4 and Weetabix meant that he found the right technique to keep the Pony’s hair neat and elegant, much like a real hair and beauty advert which was built upon from the brief.

Anthony commented: “We did some tests with different rigs and settled on one that was a combination of foil and wire. We also utilised some very new technology for the disco lighting effects - as the light changes had to happen frame by frame we controlled LED panels through a computer and programmed not only their intensity but also theirs colours to achieve a smooth, natural stage lighting effect.”

"How great it was to work with such a talented and established animation director as Anthony. Every step of the process was enjoyable. He brought the idea to life and I truly believe we've now got a wonderfully charming and perfectly communicated spot out of it. Thanks to Anthony and thanks to Not To Scale!" said Caspar Redgrave, Producer at St. Luke’s.