(WARNING: Not meant for kids, or for adult viewing while in prudish work environments). This brilliant animated video ad for the German financial services firm Bontrust was produced by the creative firm Optix (Andreas Pohl, Creative Director). From the notes at a YouTube url where it's been reposted:
When the agency came to us with the idea to show the increase of money on the international market in connection with some kind of sexual relation, we were very enthusiastic. No doubt, we had to do this!Looks like there are a couple of related posts with more on the "making of" at Motionographer, along with links to Flickr sets of production stills: Making of "Geldvermehrung" ("Increase In Currency"), and Optix Digital for Bontrust and Inlingua (Thanks, Metzger!)The goal was to create a world completely made out of banknotes and explicit characters that stood for themselves. So we spent many days and nights doing a lot of research finding the right objects such as furniture, buildings, bridges, certain landscapes, clothes, etc.
This procedure was followed by style frames in 2D to evoke the right feeling, tone and look for the film while having a special origami look in the back of our minds. After we were done creating rough animatics, we could start to fine tune our characters, as well as the different scenarios of the spot. Our final task was to blend all the scenes, camera tracks and sounds together.
All characters (Lincoln, Mao and the unknown lady) were created as 3D characters in Softimage XSI. Therefore, our designing team engaged in a lot of origami studying. To get used to the technique, we spent a lot of time with uncountable folding sessions. We took dollar and pound notes and folded Origami figures until our hands bled.
Then we were able to start with the digital modeling. Each character received an individual animation rig. With this digital skeleton we defined positions, rotations as well as the movements of the particulars.
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i thought this ad was EXCELLENT showed it to my dig design class last night and put it up on my face book - JUST BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beautifully animated, but it sure goes from "this is really neat" to "OMG can they show that on TV?" fast.
Origami orgasms. This is what the Internet was made for.
@#3: Origamiasms?
I'm glad they omitted the scene where my 401(k) says he loves me, does me from behind -- and then disappears, leaving me with nothing but sore knees and the financial clap.
Shouldn't that be a Bone-Trust?
The "unknown lady" is Clara Schumann. Her face is on the German 100DM note.
Germany has the best dirty commercials. This one is even more NSFW:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCAkb8RXzJo
That's weird. The woman is clearly wearing a current British 20 pound note, but her face is neither Queen Elizabeth II nor Adam Smith.
Wrong Wrong Wrong. "don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where its been."
#8 Bottlekind: That one's actually Dutch.
Lol. Whoah. And it's all origami? Very cool.
Reminded me a bit of the sex scene in 'Team America: World Police'.
A great example of how much more laid back the european culture is sexually. This would never fly in the fucked up ultra-prudish christian dominated homophobic american culture. Yes, violence is fine on TV in the US, but God forbid paper cartoons having sex.
Manooshi: "Do you have any idea how fucking busy I am ?"
that was hawt
But remember, Germany is also the European country that most aggressively censors and bans videogames, for sometimes bewildering reasons.
Maybe the sex/violence dichotomy there is the *exact opposite* of the US, so they revel in sexuality and think violence destructive to children's minds.
Oops sorry Manooshi: I thought that last character was Kim Jong Il, hence the team america quote. But I think it's Chairman Mao(?) My bad. (No- I don't think that all asian communist leaders look alike.)
@Alex Worthington:
LOL!! No problem, man. Appreciated the quote regardless. And re: "ultra-prudish Christian dominated homophobic American culture", as you rightfully say-- must be why the sex scene in Team America was censored, so I hear!
The should have used Ben Franklin, on the US $100 bill, as he was known to be very popular with the ladies of his time.
Anonymous poster, thanks for the correction. My tourist-level German failed me again.
@#16 Well, the reason's usually excessive violence and violations of the principle of human diginity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_dignity#Germany), which usually go hand in hand.
However, this isn't an ad I would expect during daytime on public television - I bet it runs mostly on the news/finance channels which are being watched by adults with a career.
@9 Anonymous: Obviously Clara is wearing the latest fashion from London.
#19 Falcon_Seven
Ben Franklin, b. 1706.
Abe Lincoln, b. 1809.
Clara Schuman, b. 1819.
Mao Zedong, b. 1893.
Ben is just too old for her. But that last fling wouldn't work either. Mao is too young.
Can you imagine the outcry using Queen Liz's face for that? LOL.
Hence the Schumann I guess - also more recogniseable to the Germans?
I totally agree with #2.
Also, does anybody else think the babies at the end should have been coins instead of paper?
As an enthusiast of new mediums for erotica, I was extremely pleased with this beautiful artwork. Papercraft porn? Parchphelia? Somebody want to conjoin some Latin for a new term?
Just the image of a sedate Lincoln going to town on Frau Schuman makes it a win!
Thanks, Peter Bruells! (I'm #16)
But don't most hyperviolent American movies get through anyway, now that I think about it? Note: I'm Canadian of Dutch descent, and I find even local selective censorship bewildering.
Example: Canadians love documentaries and docudramas, on most subjects, and yet -- "Monster" did well here while "Karla" was all but banned (both are about female serial killers -- but the second is Canadian and relatively recent)
Hypocrisy is universal, I guess.
Rule 34!
Great ad :-) I guess Abe Lincoln wasn't gay after all.
Eh, that would be Bone-Thrust.
its funny because they are having such intense sex yet they have no facial expressions the entire time.
The video was removed..
Video was removed, is there another link to it? can you upload it again? thanks in advance.