OUR LATEST WORK

Wondr by BNI anime

Pilot to the new upcoming

anime series by Bank Negara Indonesia

…on their new

Mobile Banking App

You’ve seen it somewhere. That BNI anime ad.

Yes, we are behind it.

We are super honoured to collaborate with wondr by BNI and so ecstatic to see how our vision came to life !!

Also, Wondr by BNI can now be downloaded through the App Store and Play Store.

A key art of Mei being incredibly shocked over something. Lightning can be seen adorning the background to amplify the mood.

How did this come to be?How did this come to be?

A drawing of Mei looking ahead with an empty gaze. She's holding her phone in one hand and a bag on the other.

Our idea

There are A LOT of anime ads out there. This ad isn’t going to be the first anime style ad. However, we noticed that there is something people haven’t done with anime ads – and that is figuring out why anime has such a huge appeal in the first place.

We don’t want to just slap “anime” on an ad and call it a day. We want to capture what makes it charming in the first place so that people watch it willingly, not because they don’t have YouTube Premium.

We looked into various anime in this phase and noted down what makes them work and how it will work for our context. This includes research on the look and feel and humour delivery. Some examples of our inspirations include Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou and Asobi Asobase. Nichijou is known for its highly expressive and dynamic visual style, which perfectly complements the comedic and exaggerated elements of this story. This style will bring up the absurdity and humor, particularly in scenes where Mei imagines her dramatic future or when showcasing the swift, (almost magical) transactions facilitated by the app.

The colour scheme of Mei's hair, clothes, skin, eyes, accessories, shoes, and the inside of her mouth.
A concept art of Mei from different sides. In this draft, she was wearing a hoodie, a skirt, and a frog backpack instead of the outfit she was seen in the final video.
Colour scheme of Mei's grandpa and the clerk. The picture also shows what they look like from the side and the back.
This board details the accessories used in the BNI anime. This includes Mei's phone, grandpa's phone, the figurine she tried to buy, the EFTPOS machine, as well as the shopping bag.
The board features reference pictures from Lucky Star and how it inspires a different version of Mei's design. The board also shows her various expression, from being surprised, crying, panicking, being happy, kneeling in despair, etc.
The board features reference pictures from Ichigo Mashimaro and how it inspires this version of Mei's design. The board also shows her various expression, from being surprised, crying, being happy, kneeling in despair, etc.
The board features reference pictures from Yuru Yuri and how it inspires a different version of Mei's design. The board also shows her various expression, from being surprised, crying, panicking, being happy, kneeling in despair, etc.

We also looked into Lucky Star, Yuru Yuri, and Ichigo Mashimaro for design inspirations. Here are some of our concept arts and initial sketches.

A reference photo of an anime merchandise store in Japan. The photo was taken from behind the counter, slightly above where the cashiers would be.Concept art of the anime store's interior, right where people would be queueing to pay.
papel-picado-top

Outcome

We are excited to share that the pilot episode organically reached 275k views within five days!

People were surprised to see a full-on anime for a mobile banking ad, and especially the direction and style of the ads. It was shared around on various platforms, including 9GAG, reddit, and many more! We also received overwhelmingly positive interactions, with 3.2K comments and 28K likes on YouTube within 5 days.

Furthermore, our data shows that the ads gained traction not just within Indonesia, but also in the US, Europe, and India.

papel-picado-bottom
A key art of Mei desperately trying to type really quickly to reach her grandpa.

What our client says

“It was different for a state-owned bank – a breakthrough – to use anime as an ad. It went viral and we’re so happy with the work. We hope to continue working with Ploopy Animations in the future.”

Ajeng Sarwono

Assistant Manager, Marketing & Communications

Bank Negara Indonesia

Credits

Executive Producer: Reynard Misae
Director: Alexander Abel
Concept Director: Gabriela Bianca
Background Director: Gabriela Limatan
Art Director: Theresia Grace Ebo
Character Designer: Jemima Sugiarta
Animation Head: Litek Kosman
Animation Director: Tetuko Setiaji
Animation Team: Adam Ahmed, Callista Luvena
Voice Actor: Ema エマ
Music & SFX: Muhammad Nur Wicaksono
Scriptwriter: Viona Stella Lumy