Blinkink’s Jonny & Will bring the sneaker world to life in their latest Jordan Brand and Nike Greater China campaign via Studio NOWHERE

Blinkink’s Jonny & Will captivate sneaker obsessors worldwide with their latest campaign for the Jordan Brand and Nike Greater China. Made in collaboration with agency Studio NOWHERE and production company The Loft Films Shanghai, the ad combines classic puppeteering techniques and stop-frame animation to craft a parallel universe where the iconic footwear reigns supreme.

It features two films, Barbershop and Handshake, each showcasing a unique aspect of an imagined sneaker world, a world built and designed by the shoes themselves who live and breathe in community and street culture. Different from the traditional animated model in CGI, our best puppeteering directors push the work to the next level.

The creative process behind the campaign was a feat in itself. Specialised puppeteering rigs were meticulously crafted to manipulate the shoes; laces transforming into arms, and leather tongues mirroring facial expressions. Jonny and Will mapped out the mechanics of the humanized sneakers in person, with interchangeable rodded shoelace ends designed for each movement for specific gestures. This was then stop-frame animated into the real-time rendered CG environments using Unreal Engine.

BAFTA-nominated directors Jonny and Will specialise in combining comedic performances with innovative, inventive puppetry. From bin bags to body parts, they can bring anything to life and have collaborated with countless brands like Freeview, Thinkbox, First Direct, Ikea and many more.

Jonny & Will said: “The initial brief was incredibly exciting and original. We were thrilled to collaborate with both brands, who shared our enthusiasm and brought many creative ideas. Together, we created “The Sneaker World”: a place with long bespoke barber chairs, skateboards instead of cars, an architecture based on shoe boxes, and lots of subtle cues that gave these ‘real’ environments a more stylised original feel.”

Credits
Agency: Studio NOWHERE
Creative Director:Ryan Hu, Angie Fang
Executive Producer: Bernice Wong
Project Manager: Jessica Bao
Art Director: Yan Wu
Designer: Keer Wang, ZhiYuan Li
Typographic Designer: Hefan
Production Company (China): The Loft Films Shanghai
Executive Producers: Geok Lem
Producers: Arnold Liu
Production Assistant: Zhang Yulin
Production Company (UK): Blinkink