Animated commercials to help you entertain engage enlighten clarify inform sell convince convert

Gisteo crafts custom animated commercials and video ads to help elevate your business, product or service. Since 2011, we’ve been a leader in the video animation space.

Trusted by the big guys, loved by the small guys alike

Benefits of animated commericals

Live-action productions have plenty of pros when it comes making a video advertisement.  Live-action is humanizing and personal.  It shows how things look and work, in real-world situations. But there are reasons why animated commercials have become so popular in recent years:

1. Animation is excellent at simplifying things: If you want to educate your audience on a complex or abstract subject, animation can be more effective at quickly boiling down your message into the most relevant points. That’s why so tech companies these days (often selling complex softwares or cloud-based services) have taken to producing animations to explain their value proposition to customers.

2. Animation is more flexible & often provides greater creative freedom:  Animation can look and sound any way you want it to. Quite literally, if you can imagine it, you can animate it. While live-action is constrained by what is physically possible and what’s feasible according to budget, there’s no ‘impossible” when making an animated ad.

3. It’s easier to update: Need to make changes to your video later on?  That can be tricky with live-action (without expending serious time and money). Updating animation is simpler, easy and cheaper…without the headaches involved with reshooting scenes.

Melbourne’s “Dumb ways to die” animated safety campaign won countless awards while racking up millions of views. If you haven’t seen it, check it out now. Priceless!

But wait! Is there a difference between animated explainers and animated ads?

Errr…umm…aaahh…heck, who knows?  Jokes aside, both are types of marketing videos and both aim to ultimately persuade people to do something (buy, click, sign up, get more info, call, email…).  In general, animated explainer videos are designed to educate your target on the value of a system, service, product, business, process etc. When people have an “a-ha” moment, you are in a better position to get them to take action.  

While animated video commercials do some of the same things, the sales pitch is normally stronger and more overt with these videos vs. explainers. In addition, explainer videos usually go into more depth in terms of how things work than in a typical commercial or video ad… although there are certainly short explainers (30 seconds) and long commercials (informercials) so that’s not a hard and fast rule either.

Red Bull has produced engaging animated commercials for over 30 years. The video ads reinforce that brand’s world-famous slogan “Red Bull gives you wings.”

Animated commercial video examples

Here’s a quick look at some of the many animated video ads we’ve produced over the years. Be sure to visit our Portfolio page to review a wide range of our video and mixed media work, organized by general style.

LoadUp (2D)

A simple yet effective 2D animated commercial for a junk removal company

LoadUp (3D)

A more sophisticated 3D-style 30 second animated ad for LoadUp’s junk removal service

Barracuda

A motion graphics online video ad for Barracuda’s RMM tool

Bridge the gAPP

An informative animated ad for mental-health focused app

Jeff Martin Law

One of an entire series of animated commercials we’ve produced for a Tulsa-based law firm 

CitySolve

A short Youtube animated ad for a dog daycare facility, promoting their all-new customer portal

Schedule a free consultation

Book a video call with Stephen Conley, Founder & Creative Director. Stephen will meet with you and your team to discuss your overall goals. He’ll provide his general thoughts on what approach you should take and answer any questions you might have about the process.

Before producing marketing videos, Stephen worked at some of the world’s top advertising agencies. Since then, he’s worked with countless start-ups and leading brands during his 11+ years running Gisteo…so he knows his stuff when it comes to video ads as well as branding and marketing in general!

Explainer video faqs

How much do animated commercials cost?

Wyzowl conducts a yearly study to determine global industry average price of explainer videos in general.  In 2023, they determined that price to be over $8,000. You can see the full research study here to find out how they came to this conclusion! Gisteo focuses on value-for-money and our videos are considerably more affordable than these averages, which can be skewed by high-priced companies.  It’s always a good idea to do your homework before making a decision on who to work with.

What other styles can be used in animated ads?

Animation in general is amazingly flexible. It lends itself to diverse style choices– including 2D, 3D, motion graphics, kinetic typography, mixed media, whiteboard animation and more. Live-action ads are also a great choice depending on your budget and needs.  

What's the process like and how long does it take?

The turnaround time for animated ads can vary somewhat based on factors like complexity or the length of your video. At Gisteo, we typically deliver videos within 4-5 weeks, from start to finish.  For shorter videos or expedited projects which we call “Fast Pass,” we can complete them in as little as 2 weeks. 

Why choose Gisteo for your next animated video project?

We launched our company in 2011, making us literally one of the most experienced animated video production companies on the planet. To date, we’ve completed over 3,000 projects for thousands of clients across the world. We’ve got a proven process, affordable rates and an impeccable track record. Click here for more information on why we may be the best choice for you. 

Beyond animated ads: other video types/uses to consider

Animated video ads are just the beginning of what you can do with video content. There are countless styles and uses for Gisteo videos. Explore this infographic to learn more about the top 20 video types you can leverage to enhance your marketing or branding efforts.

What clients say about Gisteo

Our cartoon explainer videos and marketing videos of all types have garnered some huge praise over the years. Countess clients have left us amazing reviews on Google, LinkedIn, Facebook and more. Check out our Praise page for more of the stuff that makes us blush!