A first look at TJ Oshie and David Pastrnak’s animated bubble hockey commercial for Dunkin’ Donuts

February 4, 2021 3:26 pm

TJ Oshie and David Pastrnak posted a photo of themselves on Twitter earlier this week as bubble hockey arcade figurines and teased that they were going to “take it to the bubble” after back-to-back real-life hockey games.

Now, we know what they were teasing. Oshie and Pastrnak are part of the “Inside the Bubble with Dunkin’” campaign, which includes the two star hockey players starring in an incredible animated commercial.

The first spot, “Empty Net”, will debut on Sunday during NBC’s NHL broadcast of the Philadelphia Flyers-Washington Capitals game. It’s Dunkin’ Donuts’ first-ever stop-motion work.

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The commercial begins with a bubble hockey figurine of Oshie noticing the Capitals goalie was out of the net.

“Whoa, wait. You can pull the goalie in here?” Oshie said.

“Yep, just went to get a Dunkin’ cold brew,” the goalie replies standing by the boards.

“Aren’t you worried about an empty net?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty cool. Plus the puck is in that spot that no one can really get to.”

The camera then pans to the corner where David Pastrnak’s figurine is spinng around fruitlessly to try and dig the puck out.

“Guys, I’m like super annoyed right now,” Pasta says.

The cutting-edge campaign was developed by BBDO New York, along with production partners at Hornet who went to great lengths to make the players come to life. The animation was a creative alternative to getting the players together during quarantine.

The design teams developed nearly two dozen different, hand-painted heads for both Pastrňák and Oshie to bring their personal characteristics and facial expressions to life. With each frame taking approximately six to eight hours to film to tell the story in a realistic way.

You’ve seen me play @pastrnak96 but have you seen Mini-Osh play Mini-Pasta bubble style? Don’t think so. https://t.co/Ak3ZFIzC5M

— TJ Oshie (@TJOshie77) February 6, 2021