Bruce McFarlan started animating for advertising in 1981,
and since then has been a force to be reckoned with, directing several ads for
several clients, including Hershey's, Alka Seltzer, Time Magazine, Target,
Church's Chicken, Samsung, and many more.
Known for full traditional character animation, McFarlan's work quickly
reminds us of the old classical cel-animated cartoons of the 1930s-1950s. In the spots he directed for Hershey's,
the artwork and animation clearly resembles the "rubber-arm" style of cartoons
that came from old Merry Melodies and Silly Symphonies shorts back in the
'30s.
Other work of his utilizes different styles of humor and at
the same time, different styles of animation. A sort-of off-color campaign ad for Massachusetts candidate
Christy Mihos, who was running for Governor of Massachusetts in 2006, features
a very minimalized, colored-pencil look, which is very different from some of
McFarlan's other works, such as the Hershey's spots or the Publix spots. The story is very much like a TV
Funhouse sketch from Saturday Night Live.
Z Animation is an independent commercial animation design
and production company whose goal is to be a valuable creative toolbox for
agency art directors, writers and producers. Founded by former Agency Executive Producer Peter Barg, Z
Animation's directors include Caroline Attia, Orrin Zucker, Odd Todd, John
Vondracek, Paul Fierlinger, and 20 more with a full range of techniques
including 3D, Flash, Cel, rotoscope, papercut out, and motion graphics.
