Client: Production Studio, Pocari Sweat
Objective: Create a 10-second watercolour-like anime-style animation as part of a Pocari Sweat Ion Water ad featuring Sofiee Ng and targeting young professional women.
Location: Hong Kong
Affiliation: Studio Biped
Role: Animation director
Year: 2022
Anime-style advertising was growing in popularity, with brands like McDonald’s and Cup Noodles successfully capturing younger audiences through its distinctly eye-catching appeal. Pocari Sweat wanted to use a similar strategy to reach office ladies specifically, promoting Ion Water – a lighter alternative to their flagship energy drink. In 2022, our team was commissioned to create a 10-second animated sequence within a live-action commercial, featuring an anime version of spokesperson Sofiee Ng. The director envisioned a watercolour aesthetic with smooth, flowing elements that felt both stylish and intimate.
As animation director, I worked under the director and agency to oversee the animation’s execution, supervising an illustrator and animator and providing artistic direction throughout. My key responsibilities included aligning the visual style across all stakeholders and compositing the final animated sequence for integration with the live-action footage.
Character design development included studies of Sofiee’s key features and extensive style alignment, as we quickly discovered that everyone had vastly different expectations for what constituted “anime style”.
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