Bill Plympton, the King of Indie Animation, teamed with The Napoleon Group, the leading previsualization and commercial test company, to create this distinctive digital short for New York utility Con Edison. The 1:16 short details the economic and environmental advantages of switching from heating oil to natural gas. The candid message is lightened by Plympton’s signature quirky style, an instantly recognizable combination of constantly morphing characters and objects. In Plympton's hands, a shimmering swirl of snowflakes becomes a whirl of dollar bills, a New York City highrise becomes a single-family home and a suburban cul-de-sac becomes a stovetop gas burner. Punctuating the sepia palette are pops of bright blue: a furnace flame, a baseball cap and a hand-drawn version of the Con Edison logo.
Production Company: The Napoleon Group
Client: Con Edison
Executive Producer and Writer: Christopher Stetson
Creative Director: Ken Kresge
Producers: Perry Morton, Shelley Cheung
Art Supervisor: Scott Stein
Storyboard Artist: Norm Morales
Art/Animation: Bill Plympton
Editor: Shaun Reuter
Audio Engineer: Stephane Guyot
The Undeniable Voice of Art
Creative Growth, the first organization dedicated to supporting artists with developmental disabilities, has teamed up with creative marketing company, John McNeil Studio to unveil its new brand. Representing 50 years of elevating the work of artists with disabilities within the arts community, Creative Growth’s new brand campaign includes a new identity and logo, new positioning, brand film and a redefined strategy centering on the ‘undeniable voice of art.’ Creative Growth’s evolved brand is at the forefront of a shift towards art that stands for the inherent reveal — the power of artistic expression to bring understanding and connection to us all. The brand’s new expression includes unobtrusive color and design choices that purposely don’t compete with the voice of the artist and instead, serve as a container for the art to have a voice of its own. Executive Creative Director, Gerald Lewis of John McNeil Studio explains “We needed to create a powerful, distinctive voice for the brand. But, it couldn’t compete with the voice of the artists because in the end, the art has to speak. It had to be simple, honest and genuine, in line with the mission of Creative Growth. Artists will spend 30 years making work, honing their craft and following their voice inside this space. We wanted to celebrate that. So, while the mark, the brand, is simple and honest, it’s also expansive and energetic.” Kicking off the new brand campaign is a short film capturing the voice of artist William Scott as he walks through downtown Oakland and enters... Read More