Top 10 Animated Explainer Videos That Blew Us Away
An explainer video is one of the most effective marketing and educational tools. It helps companies communicate with their clients through compelling visual storytelling.
We’ve put together our own list of top 10 animated explainer videos, and each of them is on the list because it showed something original, or moved us in a way.
1. Don’t Fail Idaho “Turning Point”
Don’t Fail Idaho is an awareness campaign that aims to inspire an informed and productive conversation about education. This 2D animation gives a lot of food for thought. The imagery is powerful and the design of the video is absolutely breathtaking. Even though the music is soothing, the pace of the video is fast. This is the exact combination that keeps us so immersed.
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2. Stephen Hawking’s big ideas… made simple
An explainer video doesn’t strictly have to be a marketing video. The Guardian has created quite a number of engaging explainer videos to promote the science section of their website. This video is a fantastic concoction of whiteboard, live video, paper cut-outs, and 2D animation that keeps the eyes glued to the screen while being informative.
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3. Beyond Years
The animated video series Modern Love by New York Times portrays the joy and the affliction of love. Beyond Years is a tender-hearted video based on the column by Tim McEown and animated by Freddy Arenas. The incredible fluidity of this 2D animation gives life to the powerful imagery. The use of only a few colors keeps the video looking clean.
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4. Re-Imagining Work
The whiteboard style is pretty much what made the world go crazy about explainer videos, and it was made popular by RSA. The topics of this particular video are how we can get people more engaged, more productive, and happier at work, and if technology is part of the problem or the solution.
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5. Chipotle – Back to the Start
This claymation video reminiscent of children’s cartoons contrasts the seriousness of the topic. The captivating visuals tell an emotional story of a farmer who has allowed his farm to be transformed into one resembling inhumane factory-style farms. The company took a bold step here and stood up for what they believed in.
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6. Hive Active Heating
British Gas presented their next generation thermostat control in this video with a simple message. Hive is an automation product for controlling your heating at home. The design of this video is perfectly cohesive and polished. The fantasy world represented as well as the smooth transition in animation make this video truly memorable.
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7. Google Now
This fun video was created in cooperation between Google and Android for the launch of the new Android operating system, Jelly Bean. Google has been releasing a lot of new products, and for each one they put out a fun, beautiful, and cleverly crafted explainer video. This video for Google Now uses clean, flat, colorful design, fun environments, to deliver its message.
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8. What Is an Epipheo?
It is a risky endeavor for any video production company to explain how good they are at making explainer videos without sounding too braggy or too salesy. This 2D video features simple stick-figure illustrations. The script is dry and funny, and does a great job of simplifying a complex idea. It essentially shows us that extracting a story from an idea is key to a good explainer video.
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9. Disconnect.me
The video for Disconnect.me pushes the boundaries of creativity while challenging the idea that all explainer videos need to be entirely envisioned in one style. A mix of puppetry and animation plays with perspective, and draws the viewers in while offering them a simple way to protect their online privacy.
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10. Story Branding
We’re not ones to brag, but we definitely needed to include this video in the list of top ten explainer videos. The cardboard style is not something you see often, and that’s why it keeps us engaged. It tells us why the best marketing never seems like marketing, but like a story, and how the emotional bond is made when the brand becomes the hero of its own brand story.
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What’s the main takeaway here?
Sharing your story is good for your business.
More and more companies consider an explainer video a crucial investment to entertain their customers while introducing them to their new services.
So which explainer videos really impressed you? Tell us in the comment section below!
If you’d like to learn more about explainer videos, go ahead and download our ebook!
