Picci1 has returned to the Italian square, and apparently retirement was never an option.
The resourceful pigeon first appeared in Canva’s Wild Design campaign in May, using his laptop and a healthy dose of determination to help save a struggling trattoria. Now he is back for a second handcrafted adventure, and this time his challenge is considerably furrier.
Created by independent creative agency DUDE Milan, Wild Design Chapter II follows Picci1 as he discovers that a stray cat has been terrorizing his flock. His solution is remarkably civilized: instead of chasing the cat away, he uses Canva to help find it a home.
From Menace to Bartolomiao
Picci1 and his fellow pigeons are happily pecking at crumbs around the trattoria when a stray moggy arrives and ruins the peace. Rather than accepting their new feline nemesis, Picci1 gets creative.
Using Canva’s templates, video editing tools and social content features, he creates a social media post that reveals the cat’s true nature. The supposedly terrifying troublemaker quickly wins people over, and soon finds a loving new home.
His new owner even gives him a new name: Bartolomiao.
Peace returns to the square. The pigeons get their crumbs back. Bartolomiao gets a family. Everybody wins, including Canva.
Handmade Creativity in a Digital World
The campaign’s biggest joke may be hiding in plain sight. Canva has plenty of advanced digital and AI-powered capabilities, yet its latest advertising adventure once again relies on painstakingly handmade stop-motion.
UK animation studio A+C built every character, prop and set by hand. The production involved an extensive team including a character designer, model maker, puppet fabricator and puppet seamstress. That physical craftsmanship gives Wild Design Chapter II the tactile quality that has become part of Picci1’s identity.
The format also lets Canva demonstrate its tools without turning the film into a product tutorial. A 30-second hero film is supported by 15-second social executions covering templates, video editing, social content creation and print functionality. Digital out-of-home executions put Picci1 and Bartolomiao to work with everything from social posts and video to brochures, flyers and greeting cards.
The campaign, planned by OMD, will run across social media and digital out-of-home.
Canva may be selling accessible design tools, but Picci1’s greatest skill is making creativity look like something anyone could try.
Never underestimate a bird with Wi-Fi and a template library. — Julian Vega
