In the world of advertising, the lines between reality and digital creativity are becoming increasingly blurred. Black Box Productions recently pushed those boundaries further with the launch of a TV commercial featuring a live-action NHL player and an AI-generated cow. The ad for La Belle et La Boeuf, takes inspiration from a western stand-off, but with a twist. What follows is the story of how this project came together and lessons learned about working with this emerging technology.
The Original Concept: Beauty and The Beef
In September, La Belle et La Boeuf approached us to produce two 30-second broadcast campaigns for the NHL hockey season. The first campaign, featuring Arber Xhekaj, is showcased in our blog post. While the final campaign highlights an NHL player, the original concept started in a completely different direction.
When we first began developing concepts for La Belle et La Boeuf’s commercials, one idea stood out as both whimsical and wildly ambitious: what if we put a real cow in the restaurant? It struck the right balance between humor and surprise, aligning perfectly with the playful tone of the brand. Initially, we envisioned a quirky take on Beauty and the Beef, featuring Belle (a character from the brand's social media) falling for her bovine Prince Charming.
However, the realities of bringing a cow to set quickly turned this dream into a logistical impossibility. From professional animal trainers to specialized transport and safety precautions, the costs alone would have consumed the entire budget. As much as we loved the idea, it simply wasn’t feasible for that first campaign.
Instead, we pivoted to a new storyline featuring Arber Xhekaj that showcased a Western-inspired commercial introducing the Sheriff Burger. For the second spot, our client outlined two objectives: continue the western themed series featuring Arber and promote the new Buffalo Burger. With the idea of incorporating a cow lingering from the initial brainstorm, inspiration struck when we realized if a live cow wasn’t possible, why not create a standoff between Arber and an animated cow rival. This could continue to promote Arber’s Sheriff burger and introduce the new Buffalo Burger.
This marked the beginning of our journey integrating AI video animation into our production process. AI gave us the freedom to experiment with various cow designs, from photo realistic to stylized, while maintaining the comedic tone that was essential to the story. By digitally generating the cow, we avoided the logistical and budgetary constraints of working with a live animal (not to mention animal welfare concerns) while keeping the element of surprise intact.
Why Use AI Now?
AI played a pivotal role in bringing our AI cow concept to life, offering key advantages that made it the perfect fit for this campaign:
- Creative Flexibility
We wanted an AI cow that didn’t just look realistic but brought a unique, slightly surreal edge to the campaign—something that would surprise and engage viewers. With AI, we were able to explore a range of creative possibilities, from lifelike textures to exaggerated, attention-grabbing features that wouldn’t be possible with traditional production methods. This allowed us to craft a character that stood out from the usual commercial clutter.
- Lowering Technical Barriers
Instead of relying on complex 3D animation software, AI allowed our team to bring the subject to life using simple text prompts. This streamlined the creative process, making it faster and more efficient without the need for extensive technical resources or outside specialists. It gave us more control to experiment and refine the character in-house, ensuring it aligned perfectly with our vision.
- Rapid Iteration
With AI, we could quickly test multiple versions of the subject—tweaking its expressions, movement, and style until we found the perfect balance of humor and realism. This rapid prototyping allowed us to fine-tune the creative direction efficiently, ensuring the final result was both engaging and memorable.
By embracing AI for this project, we didn’t just create a visually striking campaign; we crafted an experience that’s surprising, innovative, and undeniably shareable.
The Steps Behind Bringing the AI Cow to Life
Bringing an AI character to life is a complex process that involves multiple stages of creativity, experimentation, and refinement. Here’s how we transformed the concept of the AI cow into a memorable campaign:
1. Design and Conceptualization
The journey began with crafting a visual identity for the cow. Using MidJourney, an AI image generator, we explored countless iterations, tweaking characteristics to fit the narrative. The goal was to create a cow with personality—a playful, slightly messy character with buffalo sauce dripping from his mouth and a hockey jersey that fit with the theme of the campaign and brand identity.
