Even as advertising diversifies across new media, spots made for TV and cinema often remain the crown jewels of campaigns. Here are eight commercials we were especially proud to induct into the The Stash Permanent Collection this year.

NAMES OF NOTE IN 2017:
Out of eight spots featured here, The Mill’s VFX teams figure prominently in three: teaming up with MJZ director Matthijs van Heijningen twice and Rogue director Sam Brown once.

Listed in reverse chronological order by date of publication.
 

MONSTER ON A MISSION: “OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS”
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Jerk bosses meet your nemesis, the towering purple-haired monster created by MJZ director Matthijs van Heijningen and The Mill’s New York VFX crew thru agency KBS for monster.com.
 

 
 
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE “THE MELBOURNE MODEL”
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Tokyo studio Onesal illustrates “many possible futures” by crafting 16 striking and abstract CG landscapes based on current research projects at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
 

 
 
HONDA “DREAM MAKERS”
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First-time directors James Allen and Mike Skrgatic at East London’s Time Based Arts combine a full compliment of their studio’s VFX, animation, and illustration talents into this spectacular 90-second opus for Honda thru Wieden+Kennedy.
 

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SAMSUNG “DO WHAT YOU CAN’T”
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VFX supervisor Diarmid Harrison Murray at MPC in Los Angeles: “The brief was to create a full CG photo-real ostrich that would take us on an inspirational journey.

“The initial challenge was planning what could be shot practically and what needed to be CG. There were many discussions on approach and Matijias (director) wanted to get as much in camera (or reference) as possible.”
 

 
 
XIAOZHU (SMALL PIG)
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Sing along with the bouncing karaoke ball in this jaw-dropper from director Matthias Zentner full of dubious characters and ambitious VFX for Chinese home-sharing platform Xiaozhu (Small Pig).
 

 
 
VIRGIN MEDIA “DELIVERING AWESOME”
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Turns out life inside a Virgin Media fiber optic connection is just one big rampaging extravaganza of characters and chaos – according to Rogue director Sam Brown and the VFX crew at The Mill in London.
 

 
 
KIA “HERO’S JOURNEY”
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MJZ director Matthijs Van Heijningen and The Mill’s VFX team paste non-stop slapstick abuse all over Melissa McCarthy’s hapless eco-warrior in “Hero’s Journey,” created thru David&Goliath for the KIA Niro and scheduled for Q3 of Super Bowl 51.
 

 
 
CANAL “KITCHEN”
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Paris VFX powerhouse Unit Image, Partizan director Antoine Bardou-Jacquet and agency BETC combine forces for a VFX rampage through a French kitchen to make the case for the quality of TV channels available on Canal+.