Suffice to say, we were none too pleased with Three Olives’ first foray into TV advertising nearly two years ago. But, hey, we’re always up for a good redemption tale and now that NYC boutique Agent16 is out of the picture, Three-O parent company Proximo and its new AOR for the brand, M&C Saatchi, are giving it another go with a $10 million TV campaign (same cost as the old one).

Animation supplants the lame sight gags from years past in this latest effort, which features a handful of spots all inspired by the old “so and so walks into a bar” setup for a joke. It’s no laugh riot by any means, but the “Sugar Daddies” ad above already has us chuckling more than we were back in 2009. The visual presentation come to us courtesy of artist/illustrator Ant Blades out of the U.K., who helps make this campaign stand out–well, at least when it comes to the cluttered vodka field. But is it more fun than beer robots and dance parties, though? While we ponder this, check out two more spots from the campaign, which will also include print and social media (of course) tie-ins, as well as credits after the jump.

Credits:

Creative Director: James Bray
Associate Creative Director: Maria Smith
Copy Writer: Dennis DiSalvo
Art Director: Ron Tapia
Planner: Jason Riley
Account Handler: Tom Richards
Media: Gotham Direct
Production Company: Bird Box Studios
Producer: Rebecca Silverstein
Director/photographer/illustrator: Ant Blades