Galaxy 61 Updates Manic Basketball Character for Price Chopper

For the Slam Dunk Savings campaign, Galaxy 61 was asked to reinvent Price Chopper's manic spokesball, Ricky B. We updated his look and gave him a full facial animation rig, for maximum expressiveness. We also gave him a slick new basketball court to bounce around in. Word on the street is that the new Ricky is much more likable, encouraging shoppers to let the madness begin!

"Bags 2 Riches" for Price Chopper features CGI shopping cart and piles of prizes

Price Chopper wanted to pull out all the stops to promote its "Bags 2 Riches" sweepstakes. To do so, we helped them create a shopping cart character that guides the viewer past the cars, piles of cash, and mountains of groceries that participants can win. We pulled together the previz and the editorial from the client's sketches and created the journey that culminates in a canyon made of grocery items. A last minute script change added the dancing prize tickets to an already action-packed spot.

Many, many groceries and other prizes had to be modeled. The Galaxy 61 modeling  team included Roger An  and Jasper Johnson (who built  some rather tasty looking donuts and bagels). Roger also rigged the shopping cart, enabling the bags of groceries to tumble and sway as the cart speeds along.

Galaxy 61 creates charming holiday pop-up books for Price Chopper

For this year's Price Chopper seasonal spots, we went with a concept that we'd been tossing around for a couple of years: the holiday-themed pop-up book, featuring the various ways in which Price Chopper can help you create holiday memories. The staff designers at Price Chopper sorted through mountains of stock imagery while the team here at G61 converted it all into a book that  unveils holiday vignettes and promotions as the pages turn.

We made two complete versions- fall-themed for Thanksgiving, and winter-themed for the late December festivities. Falling leaves and snow add to the magical charm.

The Galaxy 61 team included Andrew Ortiz (rigging and visual effects) and Jasper Johnson (modeling).