A surreal new Spotify campaign is animated by “Gen Z’s most promising artists”

Let’s face it, social media isn’t exactly built for escapism. But, after observing Gen Z behaviour on its own platform, Spotify is contending to show how its listeners use the space as a refuge to enter their own universe. The platform does so with a new animated campaign in Brazil that hopes to visualise some of these safe inner universes. The campaign is from Brazilian media agency Soko and is pegged specifically for Gen Z audiences. So interestingly, the studio’s pick of collaborators also hints to which artists are currently at the height of demand when it comes to appealing to the Gen Z demographic. While illuminating, the choices are far from surprising. It could be no other than Fa & Fon, Fromm, Alexandre Louvenaz and Juan R. Lage.

Spanning stop motion, 3D and 2D, the campaign is split into four 15-second animated films and OOH ads. Each film features a typical Gen Z scenario, such as love or college entrance exams, and visualises familiar Gen Z genres in Brazil, such as carioca funk, trap, and K-pop.

As huge K-pop fans themselves, creative duo and real-life twins Fa & Fon lead the K-pop segment of the campaign, joining forces with kindred creative duo Morbo on the 3D side of the film. For Fa & Fon, a prior love of K-pop was essential in capturing the essence of a real fan listening at home. A release from Soko explains: “Elements such as the cute little monsters are references of old-school Asian daytime cartoon characters such as Doraemon, which Fa & Fon grew up watching, characters that are full of charisma with cheeky menacing personalities.”

Meanwhile, Argentinean animator Juan R. Lage bases his contribution on the experience of listening to sad music to soothe heartbreak. Using 2D animation, Juan created a “cartoon”-style character who cries so wholeheartedly that his tears flood the screen. Juan adds: “For that part where he swims, I thought of the image of the cover of Nirvana’s Nevermind... Then there are other plastic details, such as the hearts that have a movement similar to tears that I thought would be good to relate to them, based on their shape.”

Fromm, a 3D studio founded by Vince Ibay and Jessica Miller, captures Brazilian dance and trap with a tube ride from day to night. Full of fun, glassy textures, the duo explain: “For the scenes, we scanned and modelled buildings inspired by Sao Paulo, and also all the other accessories and items, using Blender. The process we use is very DIY and anyone at home with a laptop and phone can do it!” Alexandre Louvenaz’s offering is similarly surreal. Known as the creator of Jamir at Home, the satirical Adult Swim series, Alexandre delivers a sequence featuring a group dancing carioca funk inside a computer game – culminating in a dance-off with a giant robot.

Pooling an eclectic selection of animation styles, the campaign is the result of “an extensive survey of visual artists from around the world,” comments Fabiana Falcao, Soko’s design and creative leader. “We searched from 2D artists to more experimental ones who speak to Gen Z’s maximalism and irony.” Each four 15-second film will be broadcast on TV and digital throughout Latin America.