Ever wondered how many hours of work go into the design of a 3D film character? I’m not counting the character’s back story, voice-over or storyline, just making our favourite dude or dudette look unique, characterful and alive. Estimates vary, but start at a very big number indeed.
Now stop the character from talking and moving and put a very small still image of him or her on a piece of packaging that doesn’t have a great print technique, like a plastic tube.
Now all those lovely shadows that gave us depth and character in the movie suddenly just look dark and dirty. Not exactly what you need when the desired out-take is freshness, hygiene or purity.
Apart from that, neither Shrek nor Spiderman are exactly noted for smiling, so what I said about kids of seven getting irony must be true. Still, I bet Colgate can’t wait for a new whiter-than-white film star to emerge.