TV-Loonland subsidiary Loonland Animation in Budapest has created and donated a short film in support of UNICEF. "Cartoons for Children's Rights" is a UNICEF broadcast initiative that aims to inform people around the world about child rights. So far, the effort has forged partnerships with nearly 70 animation studios in 32 countries that have developed 30-second non-verbal public service announcements (PSAs). UNICEF distributes the PSAs to broadcasters for the cost of the tape.

J.J. Sedelmaier has taken the wacky sensibility of the SNL TV Funhouse spots (AMBIGUOUSLY GAY DUO and X-PRESIDENTS among others) and hit the links. In a cross-media marketing campaign for golf footwear and accessories company Footjoy, J.J. Sedelmaier Productions, via agency Arnold Worldwide in Boston, has created the "Golf Gods," who will be featured in four 30-second animated commercials as well as print ads, posters and on the Footjoy Website.

New York-based production company Dogmatic has created six Webisodes based on the new 90-second Pepsi campaign "Now and Then" that premieres during the Super Bowl on February 3, 2002. For the new campaign, singer Britney Spears travels back through stylized musical time inspired by Pepsi jingles from the last five decades. In the original Webisodes, Dogmatic used Flash animation to frame live-action behind-the-scenes and rehearsal footage and carry Britney from one era to the next via a Pepsi time-travel machine.

Film Roman Commercials has created a youth-targeted animated television public service announcement for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA). The 30-second spot was produced in-house by Film Roman Digital who utilized a combination of Adobe software, including Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects. The spot, titled "The Works" creatively illustrates how drugs can break down one’s body. Targeting 6 to 8 year-olds, it will begin running in pro-bono media in January 2002.

Los Angeles-based Hornet Animation along with New York production company SCTV has created some innovative pre-game intros for the New York Rangers hockey team that pay special tribute to the city of New York. Rangers game operations manager Ryan Halkett explained, "The goal for the Rangers’ opening video was to celebrate our great country and city, the fact that we play in Madison Square Garden, the Ranger’s organization and its players.

Playground, the recently launched digital design and production studio, has produced a fully computer animated television spot for information services company EMC that compares data management to a golf ball. Designed by Playground creative director Craig Price for Boston agency Arnold Worldwide, "Golf" debuted during the November World Golf Championship-EMC World Cup telecast. The spot begins like a sports promo as a golf ball arcs over the fairway. A closer look reveals that this is no ordinary ball, as its dimples are shaped like monitors and in a moment it has shot into space.

For Saatchi & Saatchi’s "Unleash the Power of the Sun" campaign for Sunny Delight, Charlex produced two 15-second spots integrating 3D animation with filmed action by director Michael Schrom. The fast-moving 15-second spots, called "Choker" and "Escape Artist," get right to the point, showing a chained beverage breaking loose from its bonds, and a straight-jacketed bottle escaping from its constraints. The spots, aimed at a "tween" audience, began airing nationally on December 3.

R!OT provided visual effects and post-production services for a new 30-second spot for Honda that delivers a message about the new Accord in two languages. Conceived by Los Angeles ad agency Muse Cordero Chen, the spot shows a red Accord gliding back and forth across a white background. As it rolls along, the car leaves a black trail. It's only when the camera pulls back at the end of the spot that it becomes apparent that the car's path had a purpose, as the black lines form an elegant calligraphy character.

NY-based design studio Pitch has created four :30 animated spots for the New York Metro. The spots use a ‘50s retro art direction with minimalist animation to illustrate the whimsical situations devised by agency DeVito/Verdi. For example, in one spot two men walk into a bar and marvel at all the women –- then realize the nightspot caters to lesbians. The spots all have a comedic element and wind up with the same message: Use New York Metro to guide you to the best bets in entertainment, shopping, food and recreation.

With award categories like "Your Song Kicked Ass But Was Played Too Damn Much" and "Is It Hot in Here or Is It Just My Video?" the 2001 My VH1 Music Awards is clearly not your average music awards ceremony. For one thing, it is the fans that call the shots: the category names, nominees and winners are all determined through an online vote. That distinctly democratic impression was enhanced by a graphics and animation package created for the December 2 broadcast by visual effects/creative design house, PSYOP, NYC. This is the second year that PSYOP had been responsible for the package.

The first commercial project from the newly-opened London branch of Wild Brain, Inc. has been completed. Created for Parfum du Coeur's Body Fantasies fragrance line, the "Just For Me" :15 and :30 ads began airing on November 30 in major markets across the United States. Produced out of Wild Brain UK, LLC conceptualized by WSAA, Inc. and directed by Mike Smith, the "Just For Me" campaign is animated using traditional 2D animation techniques, painted and rendered by hand. The images were then re-worked with digital effects and composited in AfterEffects, Flame and Edit Box.

Uli Meyer Animation created a 30-second computer animated title sequence for the German television station WDR show entitled MADE IN EUROPE. To illustrate the wacky nature of the show, which features guests from six European countries who talk about and perform country-specific oddities and customs, Uli Meyer Animation chose to use stereotypical images of European countries presented in a comical way. Some of the title sequence elements include dancing Can-Can girls on top of a London bus driven by Picasso that crosses in front of the Eiffel Tower while a Scotsman does a sword dance.

Independent animation studio Wild Brain, Inc., has completed three new animated TV spots for the new Ford Focus ZX3, ZX5 and ZTS vehicles. Part of the "Focus on Animation" campaign, all three 15-second spots are currently airing nationwide. Conceived by J. Walter Thompson Agency in Detroit, this three-spot animated campaign features direction by Wild Brain's Mike Smith, Nicholas Weigel, Denis Morella and Gordon Clark.

Sweden's Studio FilmTecknarna has just completed two 20-second spots for Triss Instant Ticket Lottery in Sweden. Over the holiday period, Triss will be running their Gold Rush/Guldrushen competition with a top prize of 10 million kronor (approximately US$944,000), an unusually high amount for a Swedish scratch card. FilmTecknarna director Nick Hewitt developed the commercials using Bengt Lindberg's illustrations that are currently featured on the lottery tickets.

Award-winning director Alexander Petrov and Pascal Blais Productions (PPB) have brought the Coca-Cola Santa Claus character to life in a 30-second spot for Coca-Cola and agency McCann Erickson titled "Classic-Sundblom." The well-known Haddon Sundblom illustration of Santa has been an icon of the Coca-Cola company for 70 years, but this is the first time the character has been animated.

Collaborating closely with long-time creative partner, ad agency Leo Burnett / Chicago, SimEx Digital Studios recently completed a new commercial featuring Kellogg’s Froot Loops cereal and Toucan Sam. SimEx provided 2D and 3D animation, compositing and editing for the spot. The :30 commercial "Storm" commences with Toucan Sam caught in the midst of a brewing thunderstorm. Fierce gusts of wind tow the lovable character into the rainforest as he helplessly clutches onto a vine.

Rhinoceros Visual Effects & Design animated Hasbro’s Talk ‘N Pop Mr. Potato Head in "Don’t Push" (:30/:15). Talk 'N Pop is Hasbro's new Mr. Potato Head toy. Rhinoceros created a five-second fantasy opening that brings Mr. Potato Head to life. In the short sequence, Mr. Potato Head's curiosity compels him to push a mysterious button which, to his surprise, makes his features fly off. The sequence leads into live-action, showing kids having fun with their new friend. The spot was produced using Softimage|XSI and rendered in Mental Ray.

To raise young people’s awareness to the dangers of smoking, students at Antonio Arroio High School in Lisbon, Portugal participated in an animation workshop conducted by AnimAction Inc., where they produced their own media campaign warning their community about secondhand smoke. AnimAction’s Tobacco Use Prevention Education Program has run successfully in the greater Los Angeles area for 12 years and for the first time the program was presented to high school students in Portugal.

Quiet Man completed the visual effects on a new spot for Walt Disney World via Yellow Shoes Creative Group featuring Mickey Mouse using some visual magic to create theme park adventures. As "Hat Trick" (:30), directed by Richard Sabean of Access Films opens, Mickey appears in his famous sorcerer's apprentice costume standing in front of four wooden buckets containing different colored substances.

Creative Bubble has completed a four spot campaign for Wow Wee, a divison of Hasbro, Inc. by way of ad agency Posnick & Kolcker (NY). The spots all feature B.I.O.-(Bio-mechanical Integrated Organism) Bugs, Wow Wee’s new "artificial-intelligence" toy. "When Posnick & Kolcker called, they knew what they wanted," says Doug Dimon, senior effects artist at Creative Bubble. "First, they wanted a truly threatening sky. Second, they wanted two product shots to emphasize the dual mechanical-organic nature of these bugs.