McCain Oven Chips × National Lottery
My first TV commercial, and McCain’s first step into CGI
This was my first ever TV commercial, created in the summer of 1996 for McCain Oven Chips as part of their sponsorship partnership with the National Lottery.
At the time, McCain’s advertising relied heavily on traditional stop-motion animation. This campaign marked a significant shift, becoming the first McCain Oven Chips commercial to move into CGI, a bold decision at a point when computer-generated animation was still in its infancy and rarely used in mainstream advertising due to cost and technical complexity.
The creative idea was influenced by the growing cultural impact of Toy Story, using characterful animation to bring personality and humour to the product while reinforcing the shopper marketing relationship between McCain and the National Lottery. The aim was to create something more cinematic, playful and contemporary than the brand’s previous work.
I wrote and concepted the campaign, which proved highly successful and led to further supporting activity, including radio advertising and additional promotional assets. The radio work featured Neil Morrissey and Stephen Tompkinson, extending the campaign’s tone and reach beyond TV.
Looking back, this project not only marked the start of my career in television advertising, but also represented a pivotal moment for the brand, signalling a creative and technical evolution in how McCain communicated with shoppers.