Animal Collective

October, 2007

The Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum in Austin, Texas, showcases the work of American sculptor Charles Umlauf, and many of his creations are exhibited outdoors. That airy locale is highlighted in a new campaign created by Door Number 3 and shot by David Strohl that features museum staff of a most unusual nature: a squirrel, a frog and a duck.

“It’s a signal that this is a different place, this is a fun place, you can bring your family here and enjoy being outdoors,” says Bryan Keplesky, an art director at the Austin agency. “Having these three characters integrated into museum services seemed like an unexpected, funny way to get people excited about the museum again.”

Strohl photographed the costumed creatures – a stuffed squirrel, a preserved frog, and a replica of a duck – to look more like they’re wandering through the garden, rather than posing, Keplesky says. “In a way they’re sort of being captured photographically doing their normal thing,” he says.

The focus is on the characters, rather than the sculptures in the background. “It made sense conceptually in terms of what we’re trying to show,” Keplesky says. “We wanted to give more emphasis to the environment.” The bright colors of the animals’ clothes and accessories help make the grounds look more vivid, he says.

Austin-based Strohl, who had handled a previous assignment for the agency, worked with the color in post-production. His other post work included the composition of two shots with the frog. “Even though the animals were all set-dressed, we still had some ideas of how to push the photography in post,” says Keplesky. “[Strohl’s] experience and eagerness to take that on was very attractive to us.”

The shoot was more complicated than Keplesky had expected. “It was tricky because we had to position the characters in just the right spot, with the right angles, to get the sculptures in the background in the right positioning and have them be the right size,” he says.

The pro-bono campaign, which largely targets families, is running in the October issue of Austin’s Tribeza magazine. It will also be used for direct mail and posters.