Shop the Rock Holiday Ad
When you check off your holiday shopping list in Round Rock, Texas, you can enjoy an extra-warm-tingly feeling from the knowledge that 2% of the sales tax pours straight back into the community. This economic development campaign encourages local shopping and highlights where those tax dollars go - towards things like major road projects that keep the city moving.
Now sprinkle some holly jolly on that concept and voila! Season’s gifting just got a little brighter.
Roles - Designer, Animator
Creative Direction - Karen McKenzie
Script - Scarlett Rosier
Audio/SFX - Giovanni Scheno
Agency - Rhyme & Reason Design
CREATING THE AD
STYLE
Developing the illustration style was a fun challenge, as the client’s ask was to thoughtfully combine two distinct references (shown to the left). After analyzing the styles they wanted to blend, I pulled out qualities that:
Remained true to their sub-brand guidelines
Could be animated within their timeline and budget, and
Brought holiday sparkle to the script
Reference illustrations created by the marvelous Shea O’Connor for R&R Design.STORYBOARDS
I broke the script into boards that aligned with style and brand considerations, checked off the client’s must-haves and nice-to-haves (e.x. including their water tower and storefront facades), and kept timeline in mind.
STYLE FRAMES
Storyboards were fully illustrated. Simple, clean shapes formed the base of the design, and texture was layered on for shading, highlights, and some lineart. Colors leaned heavily into Round Rock’s brand blues and red, with a secondary palette of greens and creams. For typefaces, I used their brand sans serif and holiday sub-brand monoline script.
PUSHING IT LIVE
The client was thrilled, and the ad ran on Hulu and Meta platforms. Seasonal shopping increased the growing Shop the Rock fund, with over $582 million dollars flowing back into the community since voters approved the sales tax.