Even amidst a global pandemic, the toy niche continues to thrive with numerous toy manufacturers reporting sales spikes since social distancing entered our collective lexicon. Supporting marketing initiatives for that demand are effective toy ads featuring animation, visual effects and design from the award-winning creative studio Calabash.
"Toy work is engaging because it's usually very dynamic and creative," Sean Henry, Calabash Executive Producer says. "It can take us anywhere from dragons to spaceships to silly bathroom humor for the boys, and the girl brands are adorable and stylish, taking us into different fantasy worlds that for us animators are fun to explore."
Some of the recent toy spots to which Calabash has lent its creative skills are projects for brands like Hasbro, Spinmaster and PlayMonster; and popular toys like My Little Pony, Angry Birds, Transformers, Fingerlings, Automoblox, Chubby Puppies, and Hatchimals, to name a few.
See below or click here to watch a montage of Calabash’s best toy ads.
Calabash’s Creative Director Wayne Brejcha notes that similar to their work for cereal brands like Lucky Charms and Trix, toy ads offer kids entry into a fantasy world where toys become living personalities, acting out their roles or strutting their stuff in an ideal environment.
“Toy ads can open a door to a world, a story, or a possibility that kids can make their own by playing with the toy,” Brejcha says. “But it’s a realm specific to that toy. You can’t get there with a generic knockoff that lacks the character and the narrative. Helping create those exciting play possibilities is why we love working in the toy world.”
About Calabash Animation
Led by Creative Director Wayne Brejcha and Executive Producer Sean Henry, Calabash is the Chicago, IL-based animation production studio known for its award-winning animation for the advertising and entertainment industries. Calabash Animation is perhaps best known for its creative character animation and development of some of America’s most beloved brand icons. In addition to their advertising working, the company has also produced several acclaimed short films, including the Oscar®-nominated ‘"Stubble Trouble."
