Noma Bar animates a tongue twister for Mercedes-Benz’ series on road safety

As part of Mercedes-Benz’ new animated ad series Tongue Twister, illustrator Noma Bar has created a fast-paced short called Biker filled with over a dozen typically clever, blink-and-you’ll miss them graphical tricks. Telling the story of a “big brown-bearded biker” who avoids a crash thanks to a car’s nifty safety system, the 25-second animation zips through sequences at breakneck speed.

“The film dramatises a complicated traffic situation as a tongue twister,” explains Noma, “and literally narrates it from the perspective of the safety system, fast and flawlessly. By creating several visual metaphors, mixing them with typography to accompany the fast voice-over, each frame fits exactly a word.”

In the illustrated frames Noma uses a bike icon to create the biker’s facial features, turns a handlebar into an arm, a wheel into an eye, and a beard back into the biker himself, before he trails off into the sunset.

Noma worked with Alejo Accini from Ale Pixel Studio on the animation, commissioned by advertising agency Antoni Berlin and produced with Dutch Uncle. Sound was by nhb studios Berlin. It has just been shortlisted in the Animation and Copywriting categories at the Cannes Lions Festival. Noma recently spoke at It’s Nice That’s annual symposium, Here.

Another animation, named Runner by Daniel Semanas has also been released as part of Mercedes-Benz’ ongoing campaign.