Our online commercial for Polished Man

This 2D animation has a special place in our hearts: it was recognised as an honouree at the Webby Awards (often dubbed 'the Oscars of the internet').

Polished Man was designed to raise awareness for a campaign by non-profit organisation YGAP.  It encourages men to paint one fingernail as a public show of support for ending violence against children during the month of October.So far, more than 3 thousand Polished Men have signed up, with over 370 thousand dollars raised.

YGAP’s CEO Elliot Costello came up with the idea for Polished Man after a visit to Cambodia.

One evening, he met Thea, a victim of abuse. Defying language barriers, the two played noughts and crosses and other games for hours. Then, at the end of the night, Thea drew a heart on Elliot’s palm and painted all of his nails blue.

In just 5 days, our team managed to create this remarkable depiction of Thea’s story. Presented in the style of a children’s storybook, it aims to dispel the myth that all children’s lives are fairytales.

It uses detailed frame-by-frame animation to take us through Thea’s whimsical dreams as well as her dark nightmares.