Animation undoubtedly has the power to enliven ideas, turning them into something so spectacular that it engages the audience like nothing else. The development of animation videos, right from silent cartoons, to present day “motion graphics” has led to its integration with the advertising industry.
Let’s go through the history of animation in advertising:
Back in the “Great Depression” era of the 1930s, advertising was mainly dominated by theatrical broadcasts that featured people cajoling you into buying a product. Animation was still in its nascent stages and was reserved for comic strips and skits. It wasn’t till the late 1940’s that people began to realize the potential of animation in the advertising spectrum. The first animated advertisement is still a debated topic, though catalogues of history suggest a stop motion video called “Matches an Appeal” surfaced as the very first instance of animated advertising. The video was aimed at collecting donations to send matches to troops. It was also hailed as one of the earliest examples of an animated film.
The growing popularity of televisions sets gave advertising and animation a new leverage. Adverts were now direct-to-home and were more accessible. Following this, companies started spending more money and advertising became a specialized discipline. What triggered the rise of animation in advertising was the fact that companies were always on the lookout for doing something out of the ordinary; and character animation became the chariot for it. Stop motion, for instance gave a new dimension for advertisers to exploit. It gave the product, a personality of its own!
Why fuse animation with advertising?
In the words of marketing proponent Jon White, “what brands may give up in physical emotional engagement can be more than overcome through the flexibility, creativity and scope that animation can offer you”.
Animation offers a broad canvas for work and execution. Engaging stories can thus be told, succinctly with the help of character modelling.
Successful use of animation:
If a picture is worth a thousand words; an animated stream of pictures is worth loads more! Many brands have been successful to be associated with their mascot characters For instance, the only thing that comes to your mind upon seeing the familiar green robot is “Android”! That’s exactly the power that a powerful animated character exercises on your advertising efforts. It helps positions your brand in the minds of the consumers with a far-reaching effect.
How to ensure your strategy is successful?
Animation not only engages users, it delivers powerful messages! An animation advertisement helps turn your message into a visually compelling narrative that makes it easy for you to send out the right message with the right “packaging”. It requires great thought to strike a chord with the audience using the right messaging. There are several ways in which animation can be done; constrained by budget. Big advertising campaigns that operate on elaborate storyboards often rely on big production houses to deliver their visual narratives.
However, irrespective of whether you spend big or little on your advertisements, effectiveness is the key! Advertisements should elicit desired results of audience engagement and subtly place your product in their minds. Animation videos if used well, can make the difference in all your advertising efforts!
