Zoozoo: The new brand 'endorser' for Vodafone

Many are confused and find them similar to aliens (remember Jadoo in “koi mil gaya”); others claim they are animated cartoon characters, while third are clueless. Nevertheless, we have all been sharing our knowledge of these white, undernourished creatures with giant heads as they enter by force our TV screens during the IPL matches.

What’s exciting is that there are some 25 such commercials planned under this promotion, 10 of which are already on air. The aim is to release more or less one ad a day, to sustain attention and curiosity till the end of the IPL.


Some of the ads in the zoozzoo series.........




Six months ago, Vodafone summarized its agency, Ogilvy India, to create unusual characters – the character had to be simple to an astonishing level. And thus, the Zoozoo was born – the name just had to be something fun, memorable and catchy, and not a dull one that’s difficult to pronounce.


Ogilvy researched with numerous characters and finally took its love for ‘egghead’, creating characters that put on the colour white with black dots for eyes and a mouth, and disproportionately thin bodies.





They aren’t animated characters. They are human beings who were made to wear body suits.
Zoozoos were a big challenge to create. The realistic aspects of how they will move, talk, nod and expressing emotion were very important. Essentially, costume design and artwork were crucial elements.




The production team divided the outfit into two parts: the body and the head. The body part of the outfit was filled with foam in some places, while the head was attached separately. To make it look bigger than a human head, a harder material called Perspex was used, which in turn was stuffed with foam with scope for ventilation.

The hands and legs were kept thin, which is why it cast women – and often children – wearing the costumes. The thin limbs, contrasted with big bellies and a bulging head, all add to the illusion that these creatures are ‘smaller’ than humans. Sets were created to suit the size of the Zoozoos.

This ‘size’ was a trick: the creatures look smaller than they actually are on screen, to portray a different world of sorts. For this, the speed of shooting was altered: to make them look the size that they do.

The films were shot in Cape Town, South Africa.

Hats off to the zoozoo team .