Green Lights, Red Flags, and the Future of CGI Ads

You may have seen the one where a train with eyelashes applies mascara, or the one where giant silver soccer balls bounce down on a NY street. Some call it CGI ads or FAUX OOH, we call it 'Digital Street Art' because it turns the whole world into one big canvas. Mixed reality content is crushing it on social media, and let’s make sure it stays that way.

Last year we started JIMMY, a digital street art studio made up of some of the top VFX and 3D artists. It’s been enormously successful, but also a huge learning experience. We’ve made massively successful content for top brands like Netflix, NBA, and Lenovo, but we’ve also passed on a number of projects from brands for fear of watering down the category with mediocre executions.

Brands have figured out how effective mixed reality executions are for created branded storytelling, and now it’s running the risk of getting overused, misused, and basically ruining a good thing. 

Want to make killer CGI ads? Here are three lessons we’ve learned after a year of running a Digital Street Art studio, almost half a billion organic views, and working directly with creators who have mastered this tasty social execution.

1: A city is more than it’s most famous landmark

We get it. You want the audience to know that this video takes place in Paris, but that doesn’t mean you have to use the Eiffel tower as the centrepiece. Digital street art is a pop culture medium, and is running at pop culture speeds. What was a good idea six months ago, might not be today. Keep pushing the category, let’s keep it fresh. 

2: Tell a story, don’t show a story

These aren’t commercials. We don’t need linear storytelling that always demands showing what happens next. A giant candy bar lands in Times square? That’s fun. We don’t also need to see that it got dropped by a cargo helicopter, falls onto a fire hydrant and causes a traffic jam. Just show us the thing, and make it special enough that it can stop thumbs swiping. The best digital street art leaves you wanting more, it doesn’t over explain, and always leaves a little room for the audience to wonder.

3: Don’t forget the insight

Digital street art makes anything possible, but that’s also the challenge. In the ideation phase, there’s a tendency to skip the insight and jump straight into a jaw-dropping execution. We’ve learned to approach each project like any branded campaign, and push ourselves to find stuff that feels real and human. 

Digital Street Art is dominating social media, and let's ensure it stays that way!  

Our social feeds are way more interesting when they’re filled with videos of walking buildings and flying taco trucks. Want to keep the category going strong? Find the execution that pushes the art form further, stops our thumbs from scrolling, and makes us all jealous.