Royale talks Jet Blue type animation

Happy Jetting branding campaign for Jet Blue Airways, created by agency J. Walter Thompson, New York." />

"Subtle yet sophisticated" is the way Jayson Whitmore, creative director at the creative design/animation studio Royale, describes the company's dynamic typography and animation work on the clever new Happy Jetting branding campaign for Jet Blue Airways, created by agency J. Walter Thompson, New York.

"This spot--entitled simply Jetting--was all about achieving a harmonious combination between the live action and the typography," said Whitmore. "It needed to immediately draw viewer's attention to what Jet Blue is trying to communicate, which is the idea that they give you more.

"It was crucial the animation and live action work together in an impactful way. This was great creative experience for everyone involved and as a young company we're grateful to JWT for showing an enormous amount of trust in us by giving us the opportunity to be a part of this huge assignment for a new campaign."

Set to the apt ELO classic Mr. Blue Sky, the spot begins with a swirl of 3D animated blue-hued clouds, sky and lines while the sound of the pilot says, "welcome aboard folks and we'd like thank you for not flying and choosing to jet with Jet Blue."

From there we're greeted with fourteen cleverly constructed vignettes that blend live action and Royale's typography and 3D animation to highlight the differences between merely flying and jetting. For example, we see an underwater shot of a group kids swimming and kicking their feet freely while the graphics (always accompanied by a swirl of clouds and lines) read 'Jetting respects your knees' personal space'.

Another vignette humorously alludes to Jet Blue's leather seats with the words 'Jetting is decked out in leather' while the font recalls 70s heavy metal band album art, the visuals depict a Judas Priest-esque band posing in leather adorned glory. Yet another couples the words 'Jetting shows you some love' (complete with hand-drawn hearts) with a shot of a teenage girl signing the arm cast of a boy.

"We wanted to evoke a sense of movement in a playful way and yet not have it be too cartoon-ish," said Whitmore. "Often times extruded type can feel too cartoon-y, so we were careful to find the right balance. We wanted it to move and not be stagnant. It's like music, one thing can't overpower the other, any exaggerated movement would take away from what we were trying to communicate. The type and animation needed to be subtle yet sophisticated, and move in a way that was harmonious with he live action--achieving that that was the challenge."