Animation in advertising is creating some of the most vibrant and engaging media we’ve seen in a long time. Samsung’s latest phone, the Samsung Galaxy Ace required an ad that could visually depict the functions of its new phone, and its Agency M&CSaatchi Abel, turned to Luma to bring the concept to life.
Luma was briefed by M&CSaatchi Abel to create an ad that would make the phone feel familiar and accessible to viewers and to emphasise its functions and power in an entertaining way.
The campaign incorporated a 3 phase release approach, including two sets of print advertising releases (a teaser and the reveal), culminating in the commercials.  Central to the campaign was the Andriod robot that interacted with the Samsung Galaxy Ace, which ensured a seamless continuity across all the media and helped to focus the attention on the creative execution.
“We wanted to achieve a final product that was fun to watch but also packed with as much visual detail about the product to provide reinforcement for the voiceover. We did this through bringing the ‘Android’ operating system symbol, a little robot, to life, and used him as a tour guide throughout the ad. This called for the creation of a realistic, digitally created 3D rendition of the phone to incorporate into the animation. We also wanted the ad to have a crisp and clean style with lots of colour and familiar application icons,” says Gerhard Painter – creative director for Luma.
M&CSaatchi Abel found Luma to be the ideal candidate to realise the project. “Previous projects with Luma have always proven successful with great results. This project was something we know Luma excels in, especially the recreation of real world products such as the phone. The results were exactly what we wanted and the ad is fresh but still incorporates a lot of content,” says Nick Liatos – creative partner at M&CSaatchi Abel.
“Animation allows for great versatility, especially for a product such as this and the Andriod character. We can tell a great story with great characters that can convey a big message in a very small time frame. However it takes a skilled team of very competent individuals to create different parts and aspects of the film to produce a seamless and cohesive end product,” says Helena Batty – producer at Luma, who worked alongside Luma animators Sam Cutler and Martin Sen and Compositor and Designer – Johan Scheepers to create the ad.
With more and more products from cars to phones turning to the virtual world to display and enhance their products, we can expect to see a lot more work from studios such as Luma on our screens in the future. “Animation is an excellent way to present real world products and especially products that are intertwined with the virtual world of the web, it really can bring a product to life. Further, having us on from the start of the campaign helped to guide both the agency and the client’s expectations regarding what was possible within the budget and timelines,” concludes Painter.