8 Reasons Why Animated Commercials Are So Darn Cool.
It all begins with good storytelling, as it triggers the right emotion, which in turn drives the desired action.
Animation can propel brand advertising, with universal stories and striking visuals designed to captivate and engage any audience. When injected with great production values – animated commercials are nothing short of feature quality and result in being unique, differentiated, and truly resonant.
Having typically higher engagement rates – nearly 30% more than live action – they make for potent marketing pieces. It’s on the ascend, and no brand or agency can afford to ignore this phenomenon.
Here are 8 great reasons that make animation powered content uber cool, as they enable brands to:
01
Create New Worlds And Push Boundaries.
Never before seen imagery.
Brands love to express their individuality and amplify uniqueness. One of the better ways to do that is to create something that’s never been seen before and strike a chord with audiences. Animation can help create brand new worlds and wow people from any demographic with novel imagery. Animation and VFX powered advertising can also push boundaries of what’s achievable in the real world and truly mesmerize the audiences. Take this stunning commercial for Kellog’s Rice Krispies , for instance – crafted by animation production firm Hornet Inc using practical assets, pupetteering, and some post production magic. Inspired by children’s imagination, this campaign brings together wooden dinosaurs and CGi Rice Krispies to co.exist in harmony. An absolute visual delight, it snaps, crackles and pops and hits home to it’s target market – kids and parents.
02
Grab Attention With Engaging Characters.
Character driven awesomeness.
In this day and age of the attention economy, cutting through the clutter and standing out is what matters. Unique animated characters can help brands do just that, with their arresting and sustaining power. These characters could take on the role of a brand’s spokesperson/mascot for a series of ad campaigns. They tend to live on for generations as the life span of animated characters is timeless. Some brands have been fortunate to have characters who have stood the test of time and are now considered iconic. Pillsbury Doughboy, Captain Cupcake, The M&M’s are a few of them. Creative animation company Aatma in conjunction with agency Mekanism breathed life into the legendary Star Wars characters of Yoda and Darth Maul in this animated campaign for Brisk. They helped retain the legacy of the brand’s signature style of stop-motion with CGi. The campaign broke new ground as CG helped emulate the stop-motion feel, while retaining it’s quality and essence.
03
Adapt To Different Formats Or Media.
Animation’s flexible nature.
From formats/media to themes – brands can choose to run an animated campaign from a small mobile screen to a large multi format display at conventions. Storytelling is generally sensitive or native to a particular platform. Taking it cross platform seamlessly is a difficult excercise. But animation can adapt. Creating stories on one platform and porting them across multiple platforms gets easier with animated content. Apps and app trailers are prime examples of this. Super Cell commissioned this app trailer utilizing existing game assets and adapting them to TV, web and mobile. This is where animation as a medium showcases its flexibility.
04
Reach A Broader Demographic.
Universal appeal.
It’s a bit of a myth that kids are the largest demographic of animation. Animated commercials can enable a brand to both – transcend demographics and appeal universally, or go granular and target a niche segment. The wide appeal is evident in the Chipotle campaign. A brand known to eschew television commercials, they went all out with this animated campaign. Addressing millennials to the middle class, this campaign created by Nexus Productions, is a story well told. The anti-factory farming messaging is spot on, while highlighting sustainable farming. Animation is perhaps the only vehicle that could have enabled such kind of unique storytelling. The brand stuck to animation in their next campaign ‘Scarecrow’, which went viral on the internet, with millions of views, likes and shares on social media.
05
Transform Boring How-To Videos To Entertain.
Killer, impactful explainers.
How to videos, or a marketing video to explain how a brand’s product or service works can be accomplished with elan using animation. An explainer does not need to be a whiteboard animation/boring video. It can showcase the product/service within 30 to 60 engaging, enlightening seconds. They are perfect for technology companies who want their audience to clearly understand their offering. In this impactful explainer video for Titan Fastrack, creative animation company Aatma uses Stopmotion and CGI to create stunning eye candy and explain a product but also kept it entertaining at the same time. Using animation enabled Fastrack to create an engaging video and deliver superior messaging than a whiteboard/explainer video. Brands also need to be cognizant of the fact that – these videos most times are played as pre-roll ads and it has to resonate/engage the viewer within 5 seconds or less. CG powered videos/imagery can help arrest the viewers’ attention right from the get go.
06
Distill Complex Ideas.
Intricacies made elegant.
Animation or computer generated imagery is used widely in the technology, medical/pharma, manufacturing industries where complex ideas can be distilled and explained in an elegant video. From showcasing an anatomy of a product to how it works simply, animation can do it all. The imagery can help zoom into an intricate genome pattern or a razor blade’s close shave, or dive deep to showcase the inner workings of a machine or a technology driven product. Imagine sitting through a 3 minute technical video explaining the intricacies of copyright and DMCA takedowns for Google. Creative artist Aki Chang shows exactly how it’s done – by refining complex ideas into simple, easy to understand concepts, and keeping the user super engaged through it all.
07
Choose From Diverse Styles.
An array to pick from.
Animation has a variety of style choices to best represent a brand. Some brands are well suited for stop motion campaigns, while some prefer a 3d animated style campaign, and others take a mix media approach. 3d, 2d animation, VFX, motion graphics, stop motion can all be used and/or mashed up to create a unique, yet compelling campaign. In the above video, animation artists and director duo of Sebas and Clim exemplify how a combination of techniques can be mashed together to create a visually compelling spot. Using Live Action, VFX, practical assets, 3d animation and motion graphics this video demands attention.
08
Bring In A Fresh Perspective.
Out of the box solutions.
By defining a unique look and characters that inhabit new worlds, animation can inject fresh perspective into a brand’s campaign. With new ideas and insights, a brand can rejuvenate it’s image and distinctly stand out from their competitors. Creative animation services company Aatma enabled Zoosk, the No.1 dating site/app to get their users to see them in a brand new light. Animation was the chosen mode to blend emotional resonance while simultaneously explaining the features of the app (which is quite tricky to pull off). But this high end animated campaign did just that, by balancing both these aspects effectively.