When the Walt Disney Company made plans to celebrate Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday around the world, celebration campaign partner Sunglass Hut turned to leftchannel, the Columbus, Ohio-based motion graphics and animation studio, to create the experiential animation befitting such a milestone to be seen on the massive billboard outside their Times Square store. Disney and Sunglass Hut are collaborating on the launch of a new line of Disney-branded Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses during Mickey’s non-agintennial celebration in New York City and around the world.
In addition, leftchannel’s Ray-Ban + Disney celebration animation will play at a variety of venues including the web and in stores through out the holiday season and into 2019.
Click here to see the leftchannel’s work in action at Times Square.
Leftchannel created the experiential animation that brings both the product — Ray-Ban sunglasses — and the Disney brand to life. Leftchannel’s Founder and Creative Director Alberto Scirocco utilized the Mickey Mouse graphic adorning the inside of the Wayfarer shades, sketched by Disney Master Artist Jeff Shelly.
According to Scirocco, leftchannel’s animation for the celebration on the massive Times Square billboard will be more complex than the other formats because of the sheer size of its panels, which means it needs to be much more active and dynamic to make the level of noise necessary to achieve the intended impact.
With two major vintage, iconic brands collaborating, another challenge was to design 22 seconds of animation that would meet the expectations of both companies.
“It’s a delicate dance and you’ve got to make it fun and playful but you still have to satisfy two completely different brand voices at the same time,” Scirocco says.
Sixteen years of growing with the technology give leftchannel’s creative team both the intuitive and practical expertise to adapt experiential animation to virtually every application in use, for any project large or small.
“To create successful experiential animation, you have to understand the core of what makes one form of communication work versus another, and once you do you can make the applications work,“ he says. It’s also important to understand the goal of your message. Getting a reaction doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the right reaction. Make the message memorable.”
The Disney-Sunglass Hut Mickey Mouse birthday celebration project is a perfect fit for leftchannel, according to Scirocco.
“We’re animators at heart and we love the topic,” he says.
Disney’s Mickey Mouse birthday celebration coincides with the launch of a three-month, immersive experience called “Mickey: The True Original Exhibition" in Chelsea that will run through Feb. 10, 2019. The exhibition will pay homage to Mickey Mouse’s influence on pop culture and art over the past 90 years. The Disney-branded Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses will be available at Disney theme parks and Sunglass Huts beginning November 8, 2018.
About leftchannel
Established in 2002 by founder and Creative Director Alberto Scirocco, leftchannel is celebrated for iconic work across platforms, specializing in content that surprises and delights. With their work having been featured by Cannes, SXSW, ComicCon, HOW, lynda, Communication Arts and more, leftchannel’s work resonates with audiences worldwide.
To learn more about leftchannel’s experiential animation, visit the leftchannel website, hello@leftchannel.com, or call +1 (614) 221-6911.
