THE MIDDLE EARTH SAGA Key Art Campaigns
Fourteen years... three agencies... two studios... one saga. No franchise has dominated my career in advertising like Peter Jackson’s “Middle Earth” films.
Commencing with The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and culminating with The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, I designed one sheets, wrote trailers and/or provided creative direction for each of the saga’s six installments.
One leg of the journey took me to New Zealand as part of the team working with Jackson and producer Fran Walsh to ensure their vision was faithfully reflected in the campaign materials. It was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, the scope of which is summed up by a line I wrote for the crew t-shirts: "Are We There Yet, Gandalf?"



Above Left: Concept Thumbnail by Rob McFarlane
Above Center: Presentation Sketch by Andrew Burward-Hoy
Above Right: Special Shoot Photography
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
New Line Cinema / 2001

My original thumbnail

My original thumbnail
Above: Final "Frodo" Teaser One Sheets
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
New Line Cinema / 2001


Above Left: Concept Thumbnail by Rob McFarlane
Above Right: Final "Argonath" Teaser One Sheet
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
New Line Cinema / 2001


Above Left: Concept Thumbnail by Rob McFarlane
Above Right: Final "Aragon" Teaser One Sheet
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
New Line Cinema / 2003

In addition to my Print work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I also contributed copy to the award-winning AV campaigns. Click on the image above to see the theatrical trailer for Return of the King.
Left: Theatrical Trailer Script by Rob McFarlane
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
New Line Cinema / 2003
One of the first thumbnails I drew for the original Fellowship of the Ring depicted Frodo leaving the safety of his Hobbit hole for the perilous trek to Mordor (see below). The filmmakers liked the idea but were concerned that 2001 movie audiences weren’t familiar enough with Hobbits and their environs to appreciate the dramatic context.
What a difference 12 years can make: by the time of The Hobbit trilogy, Hobbits and their signature round doorways had achieved iconic status. What goes around comes around.


Above: Concept Thumbnail by Rob McFarlane
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
New Line Cinema / 2001

Above: Illustration by Bill Garland
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Warner Brothers / New Line / MGM
2012
Above: Illustration by Bill Garland
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
New Line Cinema / 2001

Above: Final Digital Teaser One Sheet
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Warner Brothers / New Line / MGM
2012
In 2012, I co-founded The Bulldog Agency, where my partners and I continued creating art on behalf of the Hobbit trilogy. . .

Above: Final "Bilbo" Teaser One Sheet
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Warner Brothers / New Line / MGM
2012

Above: Final "Gandalf" Teaser One Sheet
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Warner Brothers / New Line / MGM
2012
Above: International Character One Sheet Series
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Warner Brothers / New Line / MGM
2013

Unless otherwise noted, the work shown on these pages was either created by Rob McFarlane or produced under his creative direction.