Cable TV subscription packages in the U.S are notorious for being confusing, expensive where customers often pay for random channels they never watch. We wanted to introduce Amazon Channels— an Amazon Video product where one can add “individual channels” without cable subscription or TV package—as an antidote to these expensive and unnecessary packages.

So we developed a campaign made up entirely of fake TV channels to humorously exploit all the content cable makes you pay for to underscore a simple message- only pay for what you want to watch.

Despite being fake, we created real brand identities. Starting with bespoke logos that perfectly capture the tone and content of these channels. We brought the logos to life with custom typography, color palettes, animation and lower-third motion graphics that highlight additional content.

All in an effort to make our fake channels, and the distaste for useless cable packages, feel real.

Implementation: We worked with design firm, And/Or to develop unique brand identities and motion graphics for each channel. Over a one month period, we created numerous iterations, along with custom color palettes and typography for each of the channels. Once we locked in on the logo design, we created lower-third motion graphics to highlight other shows on these channels. And we brought these elements to animate in the online videos we created.

Style elements, design choices:

Each channel logo was purpose built, keeping its content in mind.

For instance, the Moon Channel was designed to be mysterious, dramatic, and dark. The palette was inspired by the colors of the moon and we kept the design clean, classic and sophisticated. The animation, while subtle, was also designed to be revealing to mimic the waning and waxing movements of the moon.

The Extreme Candle Making brand was influenced by adventure networks like Nat Geo and Travel Channel. We leaned into the EXTREME using a hot palette, hand drawn scrawls, and distressed textures. Animation here is punchy, fast and frenetic. After all, extreme candle making can get extremely extreme.

The Tax Channel brand asks the question, “What would happen if an accountant were to design a TV network?” To do that, we used obvious visual metaphors –a check box. After all, all tax forms have check boxes. To accompany this, we created typography and a color palette that breaks no rules to create the least interesting network on TV. For the animation, we drew influence from lo-fi cable access networks.

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Timeline: From start to finish, this campaign took 2 months to concept, shoot, edit, and create motion graphics and animation. Six weeks after launch, we saw our most customer engagement to date including:

10% lift in purchase intent

3% increase in sign ups