Flat Eric
Encyclopedia
Flat Eric was a low-tech, yellow puppet
character from Levi's commercials for Sta-Prest
One Crease Denim Clothing, built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop
. His name comes from an idea for a commercial that included having a car run over his head and flattening it. The idea was not used but the name stuck. In the commercials, Flat Eric would ride with his friend Angel (played by Phillipe Petit) around California, evading the police as a wanted criminal.
Flat Eric is also known as "Eva-Edwis".
He was featured in the music video
for "Flat Beat
" by French artist Mr. Oizo
(aka Quentin Dupieux) and he also appeared as a prop
in series 1 of the 2001–2003 BBC
comedy The Office
. In 2004, he co-starred with David Soul
in a five million pound TV advert for Auto Trader
magazine. He has also appeared on the The Big Breakfast
.
Flat Eric has also been featured in many magazines, including Arena
, Cosmopolitan
, Heat
, Melody Maker
, Ministry, Mixmag
, Muzik
, NME
and The Face
.
He was based on a puppet called Stéphane that was similar but with ears and the hands were fixed. Stéphane appeared in some short films by Mr. Oizo (including a video for the track M-Seq
), and had a small cult following in the UK and France. In 1999, Levi's decided to build a television commercial campaign around the puppet, to be directed by Oizo. The character was renamed Eric, a more "international name," in contrast to the original French name Stéphane.
Mr. Oizo directed all the Flat Eric commercials and performed the music for the ads (with his songs "Flat Beat" and "Monday Massacre"). He commented on the collaboration with Henson: "When they first made him he looked too much like Kermit. He had a rounded body which Flat Eric isn't supposed to have. It took 15 days to make him but the second puppet was too tall — he was like a small child and he wasn't funny. Flat Eric has to be little and small to be laughable, so I said no to number two. The third or fourth time he was just about right. He had to be redesigned several times before he created the same mood and feeling that I had with my first, original puppet Stéphane."
Flat Eric was made by Janet Knechtel for Creature Shop
, in the UK and was performed by Drew Massey
for all the Levi's commercials. The Levi's ads took three days to shoot. The original short films made with Stéphane cost around 15,000 francs to produce. The two Levi's ads cost around two or three million francs each. The rights to the character were retained by Oizo and production company Partizan.
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
character from Levi's commercials for Sta-Prest
Sta-Prest
Sta-Prest is a brand of wrinkle-resistant trousers produced by Levi Strauss & Co., beginning in 1964.These products are marketed as wearable straight out of the dryer, with no need for ironing...
One Crease Denim Clothing, built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets, and Frank Oz.It was originally created as a result of the observation that the team that had been put together for The Dark Crystal was extremely hard to recreate for Labyrinth, since the...
. His name comes from an idea for a commercial that included having a car run over his head and flattening it. The idea was not used but the name stuck. In the commercials, Flat Eric would ride with his friend Angel (played by Phillipe Petit) around California, evading the police as a wanted criminal.
Flat Eric is also known as "Eva-Edwis".
He was featured in the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Flat Beat
Flat Beat
"Flat Beat" is a single released by French house musician Mr. Oizo in 1999, featured as a bonus track on his debut album Analog Worms Attack. An accompanying music video was released on VHS. The music video features Flat Eric, a puppet, head banging to the track...
" by French artist Mr. Oizo
Mr. Oizo
Mr. Oizo is the stage name of French electronic musician and film director Quentin Dupieux. His pseudonym is a corruption of the French , meaning "bird". He is currently signed to French electro record label, Ed Banger Records.-Beginning:...
(aka Quentin Dupieux) and he also appeared as a prop
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
in series 1 of the 2001–2003 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
. In 2004, he co-starred with David Soul
David Soul
David Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
in a five million pound TV advert for Auto Trader
Auto Trader
Auto Trader is an automotive sales website and classified magazine located in the United Kingdom, owned by Trader Media Group, itself a joint venture between Guardian Media Group and Apax Partners...
magazine. He has also appeared on the The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
.
Flat Eric has also been featured in many magazines, including Arena
Arena (magazine)
Arena was a British monthly men's magazine. The magazine was created in 1986 by Nick Logan, who had started The Face in 1980, to focus on trends in fashion and entertainment. British graphic designer Neville Brody, who had designed The Face, designed Arena's launch appearance.The magazine featured...
, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, Heat
Heat (magazine)
Heat is a British entertainment magazine published by German company Bauer Media Group. it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in...
, Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, Ministry, Mixmag
Mixmag
Mixmag is a British dance music and clubbing magazine. It styles itself as "the world's biggest selling dance music magazine", with an Audit Bureau of Circulations audited circulation of approximately 21,250...
, Muzik
Muzik
Muzik was a UK dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003.Muzik was created by two former Melody Maker journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of Muzik from its launch until he left the magazine in 1998, at which point Turner took over as editor...
, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
and The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...
.
He was based on a puppet called Stéphane that was similar but with ears and the hands were fixed. Stéphane appeared in some short films by Mr. Oizo (including a video for the track M-Seq
M-Seq
M-Seq is an EP by French house musician Mr. Oizo, released in 1997 on CD and 12" vinyl.-12":*A1. Intro *A2. M-Seq *A3. Shortkut *B1. Tweeter Trouble *B2. Oizo's -CD:...
), and had a small cult following in the UK and France. In 1999, Levi's decided to build a television commercial campaign around the puppet, to be directed by Oizo. The character was renamed Eric, a more "international name," in contrast to the original French name Stéphane.
Mr. Oizo directed all the Flat Eric commercials and performed the music for the ads (with his songs "Flat Beat" and "Monday Massacre"). He commented on the collaboration with Henson: "When they first made him he looked too much like Kermit. He had a rounded body which Flat Eric isn't supposed to have. It took 15 days to make him but the second puppet was too tall — he was like a small child and he wasn't funny. Flat Eric has to be little and small to be laughable, so I said no to number two. The third or fourth time he was just about right. He had to be redesigned several times before he created the same mood and feeling that I had with my first, original puppet Stéphane."
Flat Eric was made by Janet Knechtel for Creature Shop
Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets, and Frank Oz.It was originally created as a result of the observation that the team that had been put together for The Dark Crystal was extremely hard to recreate for Labyrinth, since the...
, in the UK and was performed by Drew Massey
Drew Massey
Drew Massey is a puppeteer for The Jim Henson Company for the Muppets and has performed in many TV shows, movies, and TV commercials. He also lends his voice for commercials and video games. His film credits include The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, The Producers, Dr. Dolittle, Cats & Dogs, Team...
for all the Levi's commercials. The Levi's ads took three days to shoot. The original short films made with Stéphane cost around 15,000 francs to produce. The two Levi's ads cost around two or three million francs each. The rights to the character were retained by Oizo and production company Partizan.
External links
- Flat Eric Fansite, Germany
- Flat Eric, France
- Flat Eric on MuppetWiki