Liverpool-based creative agency Zut Media sees it new TV ad for betting giant Betfred screened on TV for the first time on Friday evening. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool multimedia agency Zut Media has created a new TV ad for betting giant Betfred that airs for the first time on Friday, July 24.

Betfred is launching an advertising campaign for its brand-new and exclusive Numbers game, The Nifty Fifty. The ad takes the viewer back to the 1950s, with an adapted version of Great Balls of Fire.

Zut set the scene of a glamorous 1950s dance hall, complete with a ‘teddy boy’ inspired band and rockabilly style jiving dancers. The 30-second commercial centres around the band’s lead singer, ‘Nifty’, who has a human body and CGI head.

To create the effect, Zut used 3D tracking markers on the top half of the performers’ faces, leaving the bottom half uncovered to ensure Nifty’s mouth movements stayed realistic.

Gemma Strath, group head of marketing at Betfred, said: “We are extremely excited about the launch of our new product and TV campaign. The key inspiration for us was the fifties, playing on the name of our new numbers game.

“It has been a lot of fun developing the Nifty character and music with Zut. They pulled out all of the stops to make the advert, and our ‘Nifty’ character, larger than life. The team has done an amazing job to make this happen.”

Matt Thompson, creative director at Zut, added: “We felt strongly from the start of the creative process that the advert needed both live action and GGI elements to give ‘Nifty’ a big screen presence. Having secured such an iconic music track we wanted to make sure that our on-screen performances lived up to it.

“Shooting post COVID lockdown added an extra layer of complexity so we are extremely proud of what our team has achieved. Extra precautions were taken to ensure everyone was kept safe while filming, working in accordance with Government guidelines for the TV and film industry.

Zut is a creative production agency based in Liverpool. Clients include Liverpool Football Club, Knauf Insulation, Chester Racecourse and The English Football League. Its 22-strong team of creatives, animators, producers, designers, photographers, camera operators, producers and editors offer creative strategy in addition to video production.