A Landmark Project for Us

[Paul Fierlinger]

Sandra and I were just awarded a sweet commercial contract by the London and New York based ad agency, Digitas, for client Bristol Myer Squibb for their antidepressant drug, Abilify.

What for us is particularly significant about this order is that it is not for TV but for a promotional campaign over the Internet, which now affirms my predictions that in the near future most animation jobs will be coming from the Internet.

The process of getting the contract was just about identical to the way ad agencies find suppliers for traditional TV accounts; three animation studios were invited to bid, one Canadian, one UK, and then us. The creatives at Digitas found us by googling "animated documentaries" since this is the style the product and the client calls for.

The final product will be a series of 5 minute live video interviews with patients who have had successful results with the drug and each interview is divided into 5 parts, each starting with a 10 to 15 second full page animated illustration. The target audiences are patients who are contemplating a protocol suggested to them by their doctors which includes Abilify, thus the promo is available at all hours, year(s) round, and for no broadcast costs to the client.

The reason I am posting this information on the TVP group discussion forum is that I want to bring attention to all animators interested in pursuing similar venues of income to keep this new format in mind when preparing sample reels. In our case the creative directors were firstly interested in finding artists whose work fit a certain style and only secondary came their interest in our past experiences with advertising. I am quite sure that if we had none, it would not have been a spoiler. Thus, my conclusion is that you should consider promoting your work over the Internet by labeling your drawing style or production specialty in the first place, followed by short samples.

[idragosani]

That's great news!

[oyonawa]

Very nice Paul.
Thank you for the advice and congratulations.

Regards,

David

[goomba478]

Congrats to you guys I'm happy that good work is finding you both. I'm still so mad about what happened to you with the "My Dog Tulip" situation. Wishing you the best on this project and future ones! You're a true inspiration to us all!

Sincerely,
JJ Parks