Ad agency Young & Rubicam, New York, and Sony have teamed up with Trollbäck & Company to brand some of Sony’s newest products, including the Wega HD Television, DVD Handycam camcorder, thin-bodied T1 Cyber-Shot Digital Camera and Network Walkman. The series of end tags, featuring animated illustrations of the various Sony products and the tagline “Like No Other,” recently began airing not only in conjunction with TV spots, but independently from them.

For the tags, Trollbäck & Co. employed a starkly flat, black-and-white graphic treatment, reminiscent of the illustrative look of Sony’s print advertising. Trollbäck & Co. is in the process of designing and producing several new animations for air later this year.

“Trollbäck understood the relationship between the four end treatments and the original print work, and extracted the essential design elements to create visually exciting animations,” said Rich Rosenthal, exec producer, Y&R New York. “With each new iteration, and each new product, the shorthand is such that after sending footage and a few emails, the work is completed. It has, and continues to be, a terrific working relationship.”

According to Jakob Trollbäck, president/creative director of Trollbäck & Co., “The animations are built out of rotating three-dimensional images, lending a sense of volume to an otherwise 2D look.” As each product spins, audiences view its unique characteristics, such as the Cyber-Shot’s large viewing screen and easy-to-flip protective lens cover and the DVD Handycam Camcorder’s DVD disk, in lieu of a cassette tape. The 2D-style illustrations seamlessly resolve into the actual products.

“Sony’s aesthetic is very clean,” said Joe Wright, creative director of Trollbäck & Co. “They’re known for having the best-looking electronics products. By using their product illustrations, we wanted to highlight the features in as sharp a way as possible.”

Trollbäck used Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and AfterEffects on the spots.

Credits include:
Y&R New York
Creative director/art director: Taras Wayner
Creative director/writer: Brian McDermott
Exec producer: Rich Rosenthal

Editorial: Go Robot and Final Cut

Trollbäck & Company:
Creative directors: Joe Wright and Jakob Trollbäck
Designer: Justin Meredith
Producers: Elizabeth Kiehner and Sarah Cole
Exec producer: Julie Shevach

Trollbäck & Company is an Emmy-winning bicoastal creative studio committed to generating branding solutions for film titles and trailers to TV commercials, environmental and architectural installations, network branding, outdoor advertising, magazine and book design. Trollbäck & Company has design and production studios on Fifth Avenue and Venice Beach. For more information, visit www.trollback.com.