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Biography
Flat Eric is a low-tech, yellow puppet character from Levi's commercials for Sta-Prest One Crease Denim Clothing, built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop .cite web|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/299803.stm |title=Entertainment & #124; Flat Eric's cruise to the top |publisher=BBC News |date=1999-03-20 |accessdate=2011-10-14 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.cite web|author=Carolyne Ellis |url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/1999/aug/16/mondaymediasection1 |title=Eric exposed & #124; Media |publisher=The Guardian |date= |accessdate=2011-10-14
He was featured in the music video for " Flat Beat " by French artist Mr. Oizo (aka Quentin Dupieux) and he also appeared as a Theatrical property|prop in series 1 of the 2001–2003 BBC comedy The Office (UK TV series)|The Office . In 2004, he co-starred with David Soul in a five million pound TV advert for Auto Trader magazine.cite web|url= http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/220250/David-Soul-partners-Flat-Eric-5m-Auto-Trader-ad |title=David Soul partners Flat Eric in £5m Auto Trader ad - Brand Republic News |publisher=Brandrepublic.com |date=2004-08-25 |accessdate=2011-10-14 He has also appeared on The Big Breakfast .cite web|url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/1999/mar/22/flateric.advertising |title=Is Flat Eric an earner? & #124; Media & #124; guardian.co.uk |publisher=Guardian |date= |accessdate=2011-10-14
Flat Eric has also been featured in many magazines, including Arena (magazine)|Arena , Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan , Heat (magazine)|Heat , Melody Maker , Ministry, Mixmag , Muzik , NME and The Face (magazine)|The Face .Cite journal|url= http://reocities.com/Hollywood/heights/5617/articles.html|date=1999-04-03|title=Flat Eric: King of the World|magazine= Heat (magazine)|Heat |publisher= Bauer Media Group |accessdate=2011-10-14
He was based on a puppet called Stéphane that was similar but with ears and the hands were fixed.cite web|url= http://www.utalkmarketing.com/pages/Article.aspx? ArticleID=15018 |title=Advertising icon Flat Eric to be resurrected - Marketing News |publisher=UTalkMarketing |date=2009-08-20 |accessdate=2011-10-14 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.fact|date=October 2011 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."fact|date=October 2011 Flat Eric was made by Janet Knechtel for Jim Henson's Creature Shop|Creature Shop ,cite web|last=Phillips |first=Dom |url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/1999/mar/07/flateric.advertising |title=No strings attached & #124; Media & #124; guardian.co.uk |publisher=Guardian |date= |accessdate=2011-10-14 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.
Sources
reflist
External links
http://www.flateric.de Flat Eric Fansite, Germany
http://www.flat-eric.fr Flat Eric, France
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Flat_Eric Flat Eric on MuppetWiki
