-- Hue&Cry, a Richmond based-creative studio, in collaboration with New York-based creative agency VaynerMedia, have unveiled a handful of simple, vibrant new spots showcasing the added upgrades to Chase's Freedom Unlimited card. The ads, which have launched as part of the bank's larger campaign for its cash back rewards credit card, reinforces Chase's brand positioning that with every product and interaction, the banking institution constantly helps people with their financial decisions.
Highlighting even more new ways to earn on everyday, real-life purchases, Hue&Cry helps present the benefits of the Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card in a delightful, fun on-brand and customer-centric way that tells a story around the dynamic power of the purchase experience. Created by VaynerMedia, the stop-motion ad campaign is compounded by four animated films that strengthen Chase Bank's Make More Of What's Yours concept whether it's dining, travel, or even a drugstore errand. With household and consumer saving hitting an all-time high as a result of this year's Coronavirus lockdown and the holiday season approaching, the bank's campaign arrives at a time where earning more from daily spending has significant more meaning to consumers. Until recently, Chase's Freedom Unlimited card gave consumers no annual fee, a flat rate of 1.5% cash back on all purchases without a spending limit, and flexible redemption policies. With the new spots, Chase shows how it's improved on that deal and bumped up the reward rates on travel (5%), dining (3%), and drugstore purchases (3%).
The stop motion animated project was created in two weeks during Covid-19 on a tight 9-week production schedule. Hue&Cry, known for creating simple and effective messaging for brands, steadfastly got to work and creative in artfully showing how the Chase Freedom Unlimited card delivers. By using purchase categories as scene inspiration, the studio designed a simple yet lively world around customers' spending power that takes the viewer on a journey. Anthem, Travel, Dining, and Drugstore, were all created to feature the card's potential in an uncomplicated, upbeat way by using real-life props that people consume everyday - like everyone's new staple of hand sanitizer, a mealtime favorite of tacos, chips & salsa, and even a duffle bag packed ready for that next travel adventure.
The studio deployed multiple employees to scavenge the city sourcing the best real-life items locally while the production team simultaneously shot for all the aspect ratios at once. Utilizing the magic of After Effects and clever camera angles, the spots come to life and provide awareness of the brand's message to consumers: shopping with the Chase Freedom Unlimited card yields new various reward percentages earned on all purchases and still has no annual fee. Taking all necessary precautions in producing a shoot amid the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the globe, Hue&Cry shot all the ads remotely for Chase. The production team diligently and carefully adhered to all Coronavirus recommended restrictions and protocols by utilizing a skeleton crew on their own in-studio stage. Each production member conducted testing, wore masks, kept their distance, and sanitized scenes before and after each shot.
We are always very excited as a studio to be able to create work for a client like JPMC. Chase Bank cards are among the most advantageous currently in the marketplace. With this campaign, we wanted to help illustrate all the benefits of the card in a relatable, easy-to-understand, light way to consumers, says Scott Friske, Executive Producer of Hue&Cry.
Building on the brands animation style from previous campaigns, our goal was to use the charm of stop motion to breathe life into various products related to the Chase Freedom Unlimited cards benefits. Going the extra mile to capture all of our props in frame together helps the scene feel more tangible - creating a more relatable visualization for consumers to engage with, states Director Ryan Musselman of Hue&Cry. The true fun for any project, of course, is finding creative solutions to technical problems. One of our most challenging goals was to shoot stop motion, but in a way that allowed for a greater degree of flexibility in compositing. Our solution was to shoot our animation on a white background and capture our background textures separately - allowing for a faster shoot schedule and the repositioning and scaling of objects in post if needed.
Hue&Cry Director and Senior Animator Zack Williams adds, The best part of the Chase project for me was collaborating with this new team in a format where Ive spent the bulk of my career. Stop motion animation was the foundation of my early days and having the opportunity to flex that muscle with Hue&Cry was a gift.
The spots are currently live and can be seen nationally on social and digital platforms including Amazon, Hulu, and Roku.
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About Hue&Cry
Hue&Cry is an award-winning motion design studio with a deep passion for animation and design. Located in Richmond, Virginia, their tight-knit team of 13 specializes in creating animated content with heart and craft. From traditional cel to cutting edge 3D, they create soul-moving character-based work for clients like Oreo, Uber, Chevy, and more.
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