Final Frontier Drafts Director Dream Team For DBS Bank Idents

Final Frontier produced a diverse set of animated idents by five directors from its roster for DBS, Asia’s largest bank, to promote the launch of its new Cheat Sheet service for students.  

Conceived by Singapore’s The Secret Little Agency, the campaign was inspired by nostalgia for classic MTV idents. In an unusually playful and edgy creative approach for a bank, the campaign harnesses the unique styles and creativity of individual artists, much like the music channel did back in the 1980s and ‘90s.

To execute the required diversity, production company Final Frontier called upon a dream team of directors from its roster, from locations across Europe, North and South America. Covering multiple storytelling genres, each story is told in a different visual aesthetic, with the set united by a tongue-in-cheek tone running throughout.

Peru artist Jaime Alvarez’ created a 3D sci-fi adventure, while Los Angeles-based Ariel Costa brought a variation on his signature 2D cutout style. Buenos Aires’ Gabriel Fermanelli’s cartoon heist, Barcelona crew Niceshit’s food frenzy and Brazilian Daniel Semanas’ noir piece are all rendered in 2D cell animation.

Gustavo Karam, executive producer, Final Frontier said: “Our roster is a carefully curated and diverse selection of world-class, superstar artists that we love, and are our friends. To bring a raft of them together on one project, in which each had the freedom to showcase their own distinct style and personality, across multiple genres is absolutely awesome - kind of like a hip hop posse cut.”

Mavis Neo, a partner at The Secret Little Agency, said: “We have fond memories of MTV idents which were the original pre-rolls of that time except that they were always superbly crafted and surprising. We wanted the same for the launch of Cheat Sheet, and specifically catered the idea, execution and even amplification of our idea for a student-only audience.”

The audio was produced by Singapore production house, Fuse Adventures in Audio.