5. Google – Project Sunroof

Animation is excellent at clearly informing an audience about complicated subjects in a simple and easily understandable way. This is why Google used animation to market their new service ‘Project Sunroof’. 

This informative video takes viewers through the process of Google’s Earth’s new tool which can analyze your roof shape and local plans to create a personalised solar plan for your house. With this information, it helps you work out how many solar panels your house needs and what the cost would be with the sole aim of encouraging cleaner energy. 

Although this topic isn’t the most exhilarating, the use of this animation keeps the video both entertaining and informative, Google ensuring that viewers don’t lose interest in their new service.

4. New York-Presbyterian: Unmasking a Killer

This very impressive animation was created by New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City to explain how immunotherapy (the detective) can help your body find cancer (the killer) and destroy it. This impressive, smooth, and overall mesmerising animation mixed with the easy-listening voice-over creates a video that is easy to digest. 

When presenting a message as important as this one, the delivery is everything. This video effectively emphasises the power of animation by drawing up scenes that would have been impossible to film live. By creating a narrative that emphasises the murderous nature of cancer, this animation truly expresses the importance of spreading information about different types of cancer therapy while also doing so in an entertaining and impressive manner.

3. Android: Rock, Paper, Scissors. Be Together. Not the Same.

Animation is also brilliant at evoking all sorts of emotions in viewers. Android here uses animation to create a light-hearted video surrounding anti-bullying alongside their brand slogan ‘Be Together. Not the Same’. 

This uplifting advert uses the well-known game ‘rock, paper, scissors’ to create a sentimental story about a piece of paper, a pair of scissors, and a rock who become bully-victims, but eventually find each other and become friends. This simple but important message is presented through impressive animation that somehow makes viewers sympathise with these normally inanimate objects.

There is interestingly not a phone in sight in a marketing campaign for a brand solely based on their mobile phone market. Android here is not advertising a specific product, they are marketing their brand by creating content that focuses on a good cause and message. People are more likely to buy from a brand that shows good values and care for its customers.

2. Childline: Nobody is Normal

Similarly to Android’s marketing animation, Childline’s marketing campaign titled ‘Nobody is Normal’ focuses on the message that ‘everyone is different’ and that behind everyone’s forced normalised persona, is a unique personality trying to escape. Being different can sometimes make you feel left out and alone and Childline focuses on this, explaining that their services are there for you, no matter who you are.

The animation presents an alien-like creature wearing the skin of a young boy as he goes to school and struggles to interact with fellow students, the alien beneath his skin trying to escape. The advert ends with every student appearing to be an alien as they shed their skin and embrace their differences. Although this concept sounds pretty horrifying in text form, this animation somehow portrays it in a light-hearted manner. In this case, animation was the clear best choice to effectively explain this sentimental message alongside this strange narrative concept.

1. Lyft: June, Life is Better When You Share The Ride

Lyft’s campaign in 2016 included a 7-minute short film by Academy Award-winner John Kahrs about a lonely widow who eventually, after seeing her car get destroyed, applies to be a Lyft driver after they helped her get back home. We see her loneliness fade as she meets a large variety of people from different stages of life, driving them all around Chicago. Full of ups and downs in the form of uplifting and saddening scenes, this animation, with its beautiful visuals and fitting music, creates a story that no longer feels like an advert, but a full-on immersive film. The 7 minutes fly by as the story develops and gradually becomes more cheerful. 

Lyft’s aim with this campaign was to inspire people to become Lyft drivers, just as the elderly widow had done in the short film. It emphasises the many connections you can make in the industry, helping with loneliness and creating friendships. What’s more, the music used in the video was created by Lyft driver-turned-recording artist, Sir the Baptist, who launched his music career after a connection with a passenger. With over 7 million views on YouTube, this animation shows that if done right, animation can transform your brand.

There you have it! That was our pick of the top 5 awe-inspiring animated adverts whether their instructional or heartfelt. Let us know what you think in the comments below! Interested in an animated video? Get in touch and we’ll make some magic happen!