In 2022, nearly 2000 people were killed or seriously injured in drink-driving-related collisions, with young men disproportionately affected. To address this, THINK! (the UK Government and Department of Transport road safety body) has launched a winter awareness campaign. Employing dark symbolism and bold visuals the creative communicates that even a little alcohol can risk your licence, freedom, and safety.
In collaboration with design agency VML, Tim McDonagh depicted a whirlpool of beer in a pint glass, into which a young male subject, and his driver’s license, are falling away. Tim was asked to create animation-ready artwork, which he meticulously hand-inked. Crafting the watery scene and its movable elements, before assembling the composition in photoshop to add colour and depth.
Bristol based animation studio Yatta then joined the process to bring Tim’s vision to life as a 15-second animation. Since multiple hand-rendered keyframes would have been unfeasibly time-consuming, Yatta turned to a 3D mapping process, creating a model of the scene and overlaying Tim’s artwork to allow dynamic movement.
Targeting young male drivers, the campaign's stylised character featured a range of terrified expressions and desperate paddling movements as he struggles to stay buoyant. Yatta also managed sound design (we can't verify, but it's rumoured a paddling pool was utilised for the splashing sounds), as well as typography. The final assets were delivered in multiple formats to allow maximum use across Snapchat, Reddit, Instagram, YouTube, pubs, and even radio ads airing on Kiss and TalkSPORT.
You can follow some key steps in the process below:
Tim McDonagh initially responded to the client's brief with two bold concepts: a wave and a whirlpool. The whirlpool’s dynamic composition and animation potential quickly stole the show and became the chosen route. Once approved, Tim delved into detailed inking, presenting alternate poses and expressions for feedback.
The final pose evolved into two distinct character routes - one for OOH and another for social media. After exploring various color options, the limited palette was chosen, and Tim polished the illustration to his usual high level of detail. Meanwhile, Yatta studio took the reins on animation.
Using Tim’s sketches, Yatta crafted a 3D whirlpool model, mapping the character with impressive precision. In an innovative twist, their animation team created a 360-degree perspective of the character from a single keyframe, allowing for fully articulated movement.
With Tim's illustration as a guide, Yatta infused life into every reflection, bubble, and splash, producing intricate animations optimised for Think!'s online and social media campaign. Keep scrolling to dive into the final result!
