I cannot let another week go by without bringing you the unique experience that is Logorama. Created by the Paris design studio, H5, the film features a vast urban landscape composed entirely of corporate logos. Even the characters are played by famous product mascots like the Michelin man, Ronald McDonald, Bob’s Big Boy, and others who take on a twist of roles as buddy cops, maniacal killer, and more. That is the overarching catch. And if you were to read a paragraph about it online or hear about it from a friend, that is likely all would get. However, it’s not solely this novel concept that earned the film its true accolades but its persistence to story. Throughout the six years it took to develop the film, story remained the keystone of the project. The great dialogue is thanks to Hollywood screenwriters Andrew Kevin Walker and Gergory Puss who infused an appropriate blockbuster-style language to the archetypical characters.

As any film fanatic is well aware, Logorama took the top prize in film—the Academy Award for best animated short film—a shock for such an unconventional piece. There’s rough language and plenty of logo violence. Some say it’s NSFW, but I think that might depend on your workplace. Thousands of logos cameo in the film. At the Oscar award show, producer Nicolas Schmerkin jokingly thanked their “Three thousand unofficial sponsors.” And graphic puns are in abundance. Sun Microsystems stands in for the sun. When the camera pulls back through space, we see a Pepsi planet with orbiting satellites all of which are satellite companies of Pepsi Co.

No gripes from the brands themselves. Herve admits they’ve only heard from one—Cash Converter—who sent this message:

Thank you, I just read an article in Dazed and Confused. We saw our logotype in some pictures and we appreciate you used the logotype in the middle of all the big brands. It matches perfectly with our strategy that you put Cash Converter on the main street, in the heart of the city, thank you so much!

Time and time again, we are reminded that a strong concept paired with a strong story makes for an award-destined film. Creator Herve has said, “We think it’s an entertaining piece, but it’s not just a short film. It’s a strange object and we want to keep it as a strange object. It’s not our job to say it’s apiece of art but I think it has to be shown like that.” (via Creativity Online)