Doing more with less became something I began to enjoy by the time this campaign showed up in my queue. I had a few pertinent lines of copy and the event logo lockup to work with and the rest was up to me.
The absolute first thing I wanted to absolutely make sure happened was involving the dang shoe in the creative for this particular event. In my pleb opinion why have an entire festival built around the Hyperion shoe but not amp up the presence of the newness this time around? Ya dig? Good.
The event is for runners of all kinds whether they're hardcore or just recreational lovers of the run and I wanted to make sure the new Hyperion lineup was front and center for 'em.
I took the element of this being a literal destination of sorts into perspective for this creative and made sure my cameras were set to a tilt with slight upright lean. This added a few complexities within After Effects but this was important for me to noodle through as it helps communicate a sense of potent urgency and destination for the event itself.
I then followed through with a certain kinetic liberty with the inclusion of that 'Believe The Hype' tagline as this event was my opportunity with motion to infuse the moment with some playfulness as it were. I never thought I'd be able to give an inanimate shoe some personality but I did. Turned out something really fun.
Invited the 'Be The Hype' tagline over afterwards to tie this into the larger efforts, but I gave it a certain turbulent animated rawness unique to this creative not found elsewhere as it catches up and streaks along the velocity of the plume.
This gives way to those aforementioned 3 lines of copy. As the camera pans onward I figured, well let's give them their moment to shine let them be part of the fun in a big meaningful way as they are revealed along the destination before a squadron of fellow Hyperions zoom through.
We conclude with the camera closing in before slightly backing off as the main Hyperion amusingly glances out. This sets up the final burst of movement revealing the tactile undercarriage as the shoe takes off towards the destination with the event logo lockup and copy anchoring in place.
If you have noticed btw, having a purposeful unified design solve that plays well across many deliverable sizes was early among my priorities also, that is why you see that unified awesomeness across both sizes on here.
There was certainly a few fun firsts for me on this one. From learning to get backgrounds animated with velocity playing well within a camera perspective; to turning inanimate sell shots of shoes into lively speedsters of spirit as they emit animated plumes and all while maintaining and expanding on a unified design language. This all just comes with the uncharted territory that I do not take for granted.
Company
Brooks Running
Campaign
Empower Her
Assigned Motion
4 units
Role
Design, Animation, Asset Selects
Director's Commentary
This project started out with a couple of static assets as they tend to.. and yet I couldn't ignore the potential to deliver some snazzy newness.
I chose to bring out the headline as a kind of monument among the beige as I designed that 3D lockup to add an element of significance and went with some deliberate shading and palette that would stand out and yet play well with the overall tone of the campaign ask.
For the motion solve I wanted to articulate that confident aspiration by way of upbeat cadence and rhythm as the footwear travels hither and dither throughout an altogether pleasant and optimistic scene heralding potential.
Company
Brooks Running
Campaign
Glycerin 21
Assigned Motion
36+ units
Role
Design, Animation, Asset Selects
Director's Commentary
I brought the "nitro-infused DNA LOFT v3" fun to this campaign in a way that complemented the larger campaign voice and tone of the Glycerin 21 footwear. Dag nabbit I did. I really did. Turned out just dandy.
Turned out this was also a comprehensive foray into the nebulous particle side of things in After Effects. The solve for the nitrogen bubbles turned out splendid, once you figure out what is what in those totems of totems of menus you get some really neat results.
The on-figure motion deliverables needed their own zing, ever so gentle as was emphasized in the creative guide. My solve involved adding a subtle dimensionality and a dash of space as the scene progresses and concludes. Just hit replay and you'll see.
Company
Brooks Running
Campaign
Rain and Shine
Assigned Motion
4 units
Role
Design, Animation, Asset Selects
Director's Commentary
I came up with the notion of animating the rain drops and logo in a fun way that radiated the lively, upbeat, and confident tone of being "out in the elements" care of the fabulous gear associated with the campaign.
I began this approach with the goal of making sure my solve could be replicated across multiple deliverables regardless of said content being an on-figure or product closeup.
Company
Brooks Running
Campaign
Trail Head-to-Toe
Assigned Motion
15+ units
Role
Design, Animation, Asset Selects
Director's Commentary
Lifestyle images require a unique level of motion strategy. Being strategic with why they are animated goes a long way with how even subtle animation can amplify and accentuate the reach of campaign messaging in my pleb opinion.
This campaign successfully articulated how subtle and purposeful motion can help reinforce both the place and messaging being communicated in the space.
Subtle motion is prime here to help make palatable those technical features and benefits of the footwear. BTW all that masking be crazy fun and crazy confusing but oh so worth it.
Company
Brooks Running
Campaign
Hyperion House
Assigned Motion
4 units
Role
Design, Animation, Asset Selects
Director's Commentary
There was a batch of extra illustrative assets made for other segments of the campaign and I realized there was untapped potential for that amazing aesthetic; that fun and bonkers shared design language to mosey on over to the actual event logo and so I started my experiment.
I began by isolating an arm from one of the other assets and later grafted them to the sides of the event logo and thought it would be absolutely adorable if it were to be animated as to be hyping things up and so this was approved.
Company
Achieve
Campaign
Loans & More
Assigned Motion
4 units
Role
Design, Animation, Asset Selects
Director's Commentary
I had the pleasure of working with this personal finance brand just as they set out with crisp new corporate branding.
This was also one of those rare opportunities where the brand wanted scroll-stopping ads but did not want their fancy logo lockup anywhere on the ad and instead kept it in the Instagram profile orb above as they opted for the priority to be given to the campaign messaging and animation.
Since they had also just finalized some new iconography for their website; I saw the opportunity to bring that over into this campaign.
The thing of it is with Paid Media that not everything always needs to be some over produced 80-piece orchestra, okay? Maybe that was really hep cat at some point but not so much now, Ya dig.
To me those things happen because some competitor is thought to have success with something like that, so obviously a brand adjacent wants some of that pie. But when everyone is designer-izing the same kinda mood boards what do you really expect to be all that differentiating?
Just take a look at three similar brands selling a similar product, I would wager the ads are mostly the same save for some tonal differences amid some pockets of campaign miscellany and I would also wager thats just fine, because up until this point thats what the consumer has come to expect.
A lotta that super fluid content honestly, with teams and teams and teams of people viddying all that on location, etc, it just gets a glance and the scroll goes on I'd wager, because at that point it is just an inherently spectator experience, they're just watching it, because they've already seen it from some competitor. Great for Youtube. Not for the feed.
I would also wager that with certain AI its best to remember just because it becomes easier to create some fantastical midjourney-gasm visuals, it probably wont help a brand or their product/service, because sooner or later everyone is gonna have that same over-the-top aesthetic with some probability.
Ads are gonna be ads are gonna be ads, logos are gonna be logos are gonna be logos even probably moreso than the present no matter how much we creatives try to convince the consumer to care. Having high-fidelity fantastical generatively assisted ads just isnt really going to be much of a differentiator is what Im getting at.
It will be rather interesting to see when the omni-ad pops up and where, now that would be an endeavor... the omni-ad.
In my pleb opinion its most likely the daring and scrappy stuff that whole Gonzo-style of content that gets em tho ...bit of a palate cleanser of expectations of sorts until it doesnt at some point yet. And yes, pairing them icons together in fun combos and animating them made for some really enjoyable and Gonzo-tastic solves.
I mean you are hoping to hire someone that is something of a human being, yes? My pleb opinions after all are my own of course, as I am something thereof an individual.
When you are ready, please do atleast make some attempt, dear reader, to perhaps loosen that absurd grip from those pearls being clutched while reading these tomes of motion profundities. It'll be just fine, with some probability.
Company
Clorox
Campaign
Burt's Bees - Personalize
Assigned Motion
4 units
Role
Design, Animation, Asset Selects
Director's Commentary
The aim of this campaign was to drive traffic to the new customizer feature for Burt's lip balm assortment.
That efficient new flow was demonstrated through the power of purposeful motion design. Informing viewers just how amazingly fast and easy it is to get personalized.
Company
Clorox
Campaign
Burt's Bees - Gifting
Assigned Motion
6 units
Role
Design, Animation, Asset Selects
Director's Commentary
Holidays and gifting are usually synonymous with fun and whimsy as timing becomes essential when there's tons going on.
Animating this campaign with just the right element of anticipation without inducing visual diabeetus was an interesting endeavor that turned out altogether welcoming.