Together with our friends at AKQA, we wanted to sprinkle some joy into skincare advertising and make a star of the campaign hero. As soon as we clapped eyes on Pablo the Plankton, we fell hook, line and sinker.

We got to work adding the thoughtful touches that give a 2D character 4D appeal.

As ever, we made sure to fill every second with characterful details—like the plankton’s relationship with our wonderful whale—that make the work relatable, engaging and appealing to the careful viewer.

Plankton might not be pretty, but these micro miracles are the main source of food for sea creatures and produce half of the world’s oxygen. The client wanted us to be playful and quirky, and we took great care to strike the right balance between joyfulness and sensitivity to the important issue of sea life conservation.

We used hand-drawn and vector animation to stay true to Pablo’s original design, while making him feel alive. Highlights included choreographing the ‘sustainability dance’ as an early test, and creating creatures (like our splendid seagull) to keep Pablo company. We also got the chance to put our motion skills to good use in the underwater scenes.

Without losing sight of the campaign aims, we relished adding surprising and delightful moments that plumped up the appeal and gave Biotherm its own replenishment.

Pablo got you feeling pumped? Drop us a message to see what we could make together.

Services

Style development and design, Storyboarding and animatic, Animation production, File reformatting, Render and delivery, Project leadership, Art and creative direction, Production and Account services

Deliverables

2 x 15' plankton stories: The Oxygen and The March, 2 x 6' plankton stories: The Gift and The March, 7 x looping GIF stickers