As these 10 projects demonstrate, 2018 was an exceptional year for marketing films not intended for broadcast TV. The budget, talent, and tools may vary but the ambitious engagement and emotional goals do not.

All these films were published in The Stash Permanent Collection during 2018 and appear here in chronological order by the date of publication.
 
 

HELP REFUGEES “THE JOURNEY”
Brand film 2:38
STASH 127

After winning a global competition to create the music video for Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” Iranian refugee and artist Majid Adin directed this film depicting the struggle of a Syrian family fleeing their home.

Majid Adin: “Help Refugees were such a support to me when I was in the Calais Jungle so it has been an honor to work with them and Blinkink on this project.

“If this film helps just one of the millions of refugee children struggling this winter, then it will have done its job.”
 
 

TINDER “INVENTION OF TOGETHER”
Brand film 1:16
STASH 128

The 3D animation crew at Buck spin the dating app Tinder into something timeless and wonderful by creating a warm and light-hearted mix of CG characters and practical miniature sets.

Buck: “In this epic history of man and womankind’s eternal struggle to couple… and do other things, the good folks at Tinder let us get our art on to create a luscious world where people have wonderbutts… and the same face.”
 
 

AUTOSTORE
Brand film 1:25
STASH 129

Co-directors Chris Bahry and Nicolas Girard at Tendril in Toronto: “Part of a comprehensive rebrand for AutoStore, the brief was to create an attention-grabbing brand film that would both communicate the essence of AutoStore and solidify its positioning as the most space-efficient robotic warehousing system in the world.

“When Magne Hatteland, the marketing director of AutoStore first visited Toronto and shared his vision with us, our imaginations were sparked. The brand ethos and product he showed us was sophisticated and tasteful and had a sci-fi aesthetic that we fell in love with instantly.”
 
 

OVERKILL’S THE WALKING DEAD “AIDAN”
Games 2:28
STASH 130

Henrik Eklundh, VFX supervisor at Goodbye Kansas in Stockholm, Sweden: “The Walking Dead franchise is about the people, their survival, and their choices. It’s not about the walkers. Same goes for the game.

“So together with Skybound and Starbreeze, we worked out where to put the narrative focus while still delivering the action and the grit.

“This was our first run with our new facial capture department and implementing that workflow. We really wanted Aidan’s emotions to come through to the audience.

“Another hard thing was this really intricate slow camera movement across the ground – to find the right pace, to get the right amount of details was a challenge.”
 
 

GATORADE “HEART OF A LIO”
Brand film 4:20
STASH 130

Carolina Montaño, marketing manager at Gizmo in Buenos Aires: “The initial request we received from the agency was to create one content piece for Gatorade’s 2018 soccer campaign with its own aesthetic to tell the story of Lionel Messi’s life.

“The production process took approximately a year. It was divided into four months working on the script alongside the agency, four pre-production months, and four production months.

“We studied Messi in all his ages, both in his sport movements and his facial expressions – happy and euphoric moments, as well as moments of frustration and anger – to arrive at a natural and credible result.”
 
 

GOOGLE “MAKE GOOD THINGS TOGETHER”
Brand film 2:39
STASH 130

The 2018 Google I/O conference keynote opened with this immense yet lovable animated film that Nexus director Fx Goby describes as “a story about the power of a community working together to make good things.

“Celebrating the power of collaborative work and achievement and premiering across three cinematic screens to an in-venue audience of 7,000, the minute film was also live-streamed to millions of viewers around the globe.

“Discovering their shared potential, the pixels pop into color to solve the city’s transport issues, transform classrooms into inspiring places to learn (via Google Chrome Browser T-Rex Dinosaur, created by our pixels) and rally to aid a fallen ‘stuck pixel’ friend.”
 
 

LIBERTY GLOBAL “A REPORT OF CONNECTED EVENTS”
Brand film 4:27
STASH 130

Director Mischa Rozema at PostPanic in Amsterdam: “In our first meeting with the client we both agreed this wasn’t going to be about making a premeditated vision, but a true collaboration between client and production company.

“We both knew that we wanted to make something worthwhile and we wanted to tell a story about telling stories.

“From there, it was pure trust. This was one of the many reasons this project was so personal and special to us and we are so grateful that they put that trust in us.”
 
 

JD.COM “JOY & HERON”
Brand film 4:04
STASH 130

Joy, the canine mascot for China’s largest retailer JD.com, does battle with a persistent mother heron in this sweet brand film directed with obvious affection by Kyra & Constantin at Passion Pictures thru 180.ai.

Directors Kyra & Constantin at Passion Pictures in London: “We immediately fell in love with this energetic, adorable character and saw an opportunity to play with his innocence and connect the audience with the company’s ethos in a genuine and meaningful way.”
 
 

GREENPEACE “RANG-TAN: THE STORY OF DIRTY PALM OIL”
Brand film 1:31
STASH 131

Passion Animation directors Salon Alpin help Greenpeace spotlight the destruction of Indonesian rainforest for the production of palm oil with an emotional 90-second film narrated by Emma Thompson.

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace: “A decade ago we persuaded brands including Nestlé, Unilever and Mondelez to sign global commitments to drop dirty palm oil from their products by 2020 – but with just 500 days to go, their progress is pitiful.

“Around half of the products in our supermarkets contain palm oil, from shampoo to chocolate. This film aims to raise awareness of the issue among new audiences and grow a movement of people that can help force brands to keep their promise.”
 
 

MAXON “INFLUENCERS”
Brand film 2:37
STASH 131

To showcase new features included in release 20 of their Cinema 4D software, MAXON gave f°am Studio in Berlin free reign to do what they do best: push CG to it’s most intriguing limits with a touch of wit.

f°am Studio: “Influencers’ is about drawing out the intrigue in the Everyday and allowing it to humbly influence the world around us. For us, it’s a celebration of the creative process.

“Inspired by the concepts of kami and animism (the idea that all things possess a spirit), the film gradually reveals a vibrantly animated world that usually goes unseen. The more we watch, the more we see the influences that alter the life we live.”