When Sylvester daCunha made the Amul girl in 1966, small did he know that the unassuming blue-haired girl in a red polka-dotted frock would grow to be one of India’s most celebrated animation characters. As a social commentator portraying witty and timely executions more than the previous 5 decades, the Amul girl has grow to be a trendsetter in the marketing globe. “The idea of the character, devised by my father, was to sell butter while she’s also telling us what is happening in the country at that moment,” says Rahul daCunha, the son of Sylvester and inventive director of daCunha Communications, the Mumbai-based marketing agency that has handled the Amul account considering that 1966. “Many times, advertising agencies let go of the property or the animated idea, but the popularity and connection with the Amul girl — or, for that matter, Vodafone India’s popular mascot ZooZoos — have been around for some years,” adds daCunha.
In a globe run down by the pandemic exactly where physical ad shoots have been complicated, animation in marketing is occupying a central function. Using 2D, 3D or mixed media, it is serving as a effective storytelling medium and is becoming accepted by lots of marketers such as Grofers, Chennai Super Kings, Castrol India, Acko General Insurance, amongst other folks. And why not? As it is not only serving as an immediate option to production complications, but also assisting them remain connected with customers. “In the absence of shoots, animation advertising is a great substitute in the current work-from-home scenario. Animators can provide the same kind of output from home as they would in a studio,” says daCunha. “But a lot of agencies and marketers might see this as a stop-gap measure and not as a viable alternative to live action,” he adds.
A 2019 KPMG report, nonetheless, revealed that the demand could hold up, as the animation and VFX industries work for the lengthy term. Further, the animation market income for FY19 was estimated at Rs 88 billion. Talking about the appeal of animation in marketing, Chris Garbutt, international chief inventive officer of New York-based marketing agency TBWAWorldwide, says, “Brands turned to animation and design to help them stand out from the sea of sameness.”
Garbutt says the lockdown produced brands reinvent their way of displaying up in culture. “There are only so many times brands can repurpose old film footage to suit new messages before it becomes boring for the intended audience. Animation design sets brands free to be bold and original in their narratives. It’s also a much nimble way of producing content at the speed of culture, and often it’s much more affordable than other techniques. Animation design will continue to be a powerful way for brands to communicate in a bespoke manner,” he delivers.
In current months, TBWA has applied animation and style in various executions, which includes work for the state of New York and the Canadian Women’s Foundation. TBWAChiatDay New York (the American division of the marketing agency TBWA Worldwide) made a series of out-of-house (OOH) posters, billboards and animations for Broadway, Times Square and Columbus Circle, as effectively as signage about Albany, the state capital, and Buffalo, to encourage persons to quit the spread of Covid-19 by wearing a mask, practising social distancing and washing hands.
There are no constraints in animation, feels Anish Mehta, chief executive officer, Cosmos Maya, a Singapore- and India-based animation studio that made Motu Patlu, a kids’ show on Nickelodeon in India. Further, filming at house with a mobile or hand-held gear often does not resolve the brand’s objective. “Animation gives flexibility and artistic space to experiment by giving more colour and variety to a brand’s voice. For any kind of extraordinary and dreamy-looking visual directives, animation is required,” says Mehta.
Animation also supplies a level-playing field when it comes to expense. “Brands had to work around the logistical constraints of advertising with content creators and consumers all working and interacting from home, owing to which they had to condition the ad spend to adapt while staying relevant and creative. In this regard, animation is a better option, as it provides a playing field at a fraction of a cost,” adds Mehta.
Bengaluru-based dairy venture MilkLane not too long ago launched Nutrinos, dairy merchandise for young children in the age group of 3-8 years, employing animation marketing. Their animated mascots — Proto, Vita and Calci — clarify the value of nutrition to children. “The mascot have a unique role to play. Proto talks about muscle growth, Calci talks about strong bones and Vita, with a shield, talks about immunity. So it contextualises the conversation with moods and expressions, very apt for kids and mothers,” says Vivek Sharma, chief advertising officer, MilkLane. “With content consumption changing, the focus has shifted to digital. For advertisers and marketers, this is the time to reimagine communication and find newer ways to create a memorable digital experience. Animation can simplify complex topics to bring any concept to life without being bound by physical or logistical constraints,” he adds.
In June final year, Mother Dairy, also, launched Rocket Ice Creams (in French vanilla and Belgian chocolate variants) with the mascot Neila. “The need to employ an adorable intergalactic alien called Neila is not only derived from the alien’s colour as referred to the colour blue in Hindi, but has a fun trivia hidden in it. It is alien spelt in reverse. Thus, making the product more relevant, experiential and fun for young consumers,” says Gurugram-based Ritu Sharda, chief inventive officer at Ogilvy, which has worked on the idea.