Caterpillar partners with Illinois author and illustrator for new video
Caterpillar worked with the author and illustrator of the bestselling children's book "Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site" to create a new promotional video highlighting its dealership maintenance services.
First published in 2011, the book was written by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, both of whom live in Illinois. Rinker said the book originated as a way to get her high-energy and truck-obsessed. 2-year-old son to settle down in the evening. The book was a hit, and led its author, who originally worked as a graphic designer, to change careers and pen a spate of sequels.
Archie Lyons, a senior market professional at Caterpillar, said his own daughter's interest in the book led him to reach out to Rinker and Lichtenheld for a collaboration. Lyons pointed out to Lichtenheld that the bulldozer the latter had illustrated included an elevated sprocket or "high drive," a patented feature of Caterpillar machines that causes their treads to take a distinctive triangular shape.
"I had my walls lined with reference photographs for bulldozers," Lichtenheld said. "I didn't know that this was exclusive to the Caterpillar equipment. I just thought it looked cool."
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That fact of "the natural compatibility of the book and the brand," as Lichtenheld put it, convinced the book's creators to get on board with the company's promotional bid.
"Sometimes a brand message can be really flat-footed when it's when it's partnering with existing creative product," he said. "And this one doesn't – it's perfectly natural."
The video brings Lichtenheld's artwork to life by blending footage of Caterpillar vehicles shot outside Tucson, Arizona, with hand-drawn animated elements. Narration drawn from Rinker's prose describes the daytime activities and bedtime routines of five anthropomorphic construction vehicles.
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At the end, three Caterpillar service trucks show up to tuck the vehicles in and to highlight the nighttime maintenance services offered by Caterpillar dealerships.
"When the machines are done for the day, it's a great time for dealers to come in and do preventative maintenance," Lyons said. "When you go to bed, we go to work."
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Caterpillar and Illinois book creators forge 'perfectly natural' video
