Does crossing paths with a black cat bring bad luck? InArtefact 3000’s commercial, Black Cat, for Direct Assurance it certainly seems to. Black Cat is the story of a father and his daughter who adopt an abandoned kitten. From the moment it enters their lives, a streak of bad luck begins to pile up, and doubt creeps into the father’s mind: what if this cat is bringing them bad luck? After all, it is a black cat. Faced with the ultimate symbol of bad luck, superstition grows… Always in the wrong place at the wrong time, the animal becomes the ideal culprit for the multiplying mishaps. By twisting thriller tropes into comedy, the film shows this cat mocking the father…while playing with the audience. Will the father get rid of the cat his daughter adores? The commercial’s resolve is much cleverer than that. A title appears, “Adopt better insurance”.

The commercial was designed to be a cinematic film – 100% live-action camera – no AI, no 3D. It was directed by Tim Bullock, who played with thriller tropes and footage shot in CinemaScope, and produced by LA/PAC with sound production by Schmooze. The score was entrusted to film composer, Mathieu Lamboley, who created an original piece for the occasion, The Black Cat Theme.

The full campaign will run across TV / OLV (online video) in France, in 60-, 45-, and 30-second formats, as well as OOH and social media.

Loïc Kueny, marketing director, Direct Assurance, stated, “Well done to Artefact 3000 for successfully showing through this film what everyday insurance is really for – overcoming life’s uncertainties and bad luck to protect what matters most, our family, with or without a black cat. I am very proud to demonstrate through this campaign that Direct Assurance enables everyone to be well protected every day.”

François Brogi, president, Artefact 3000, added. “After two years of collaboration working to strengthen the appeal of our services and offers, we designed this film to take the brand to the next level. Moving from the label of a low-cost brand to that of a major, everyday brand accessible to everyone. And as a result, gaining consideration from even more French consumers in the future.”

Credits

Client: Direct Assurance
Client Team: Loïc Kueny,  Héloïse Clerc, Tristan Perreur, Caroline Besançon & Juliette Wilhem

Creative Agency: Artefact 3000
President: François Brogi 
Associate Director: Marie Chapuis
Client Director: Amandine Mory
Head of PR: Anouck Vallez
Strategy Planner: Pauline Luzerne
Creative Director: Charles Pivot
Art Directors: Steven Poindron & Adrien Kelejian
Assistant Art Director: Edouard Poudat
Producer: Isabelle Menard

Production Company La Pac
Director: Tim Bullock
Executive Producer: Eric Lipchitz
Line Producer: Renaud Jaget 
Production Coordinator: Lucie Gardes
1st AD: Ben Gill
DOP: Rasmus Videbaek
Production Service: Magic
Executive Producer: Aurimas Pukevicius
Head of Production: Ramojus Petrauskas
Production Manager: Vilmante Bugenyte
Production Coordinator: Agata Suduiko

Post Production: La Pac
Head of Post Production: Laurence Lelong
VFX Supervisor: Laurent Pili
Post Production Coordinator: Axelle Duarte
Editors: Benjamin Weill  & Cyril Nakache
Editing Assistants: Emilien Denis & Bradley Ratolojanahary

Colour Grading: Company 3
Producer: Kerri Aungle
Colourists: Jean-Clément Soret& Mathieu Toullet

VFX Executive Producer: Emily Newbould
VFX Supervisor: Mikey Brown
Flame Artist: Jacob Street

Sound: Schmooze
Producer: Grégoire Galian
Composer: Mathieu Lamboley

Media Agency: Hearts & Science