'Logorama'—Revisit This Smart Animated Short Set In A World Where Corporate Logos Come To Life

Just before George Harrison, musician and former Beatle, died he asked French animation and graphics studio H5—Francois Alaux, Herve de Crecy and Ludovic Houplain—to make him a music video for his last single. It was all about consumerism, but sadly he passed away and the project was never realised.

However what did come from it was a new project which became the short film Logorama. The now famous animation is set in a bustling fictional city, a hyped-up Los Angeles, except this Los Angeles is composed entirely of corporate logos and mascots come to life.

The narrative centers around two Michelin Man cops, the symbol of the Michelin tire company, who battle a rogue Ronald McDonald as he goes on the rampage, taking hostages and causing chaos.

The 16 minute short uses over 2,500 logos from many of the most well-known companies in the world. It passes comment on globalisation, freedom of speech, and the visual references that cloud our lives, both online and off. But as well as looking at the pervasiveness of brands, it also pays tribute to the men and women who created these iconic logos.

Everything from Pop Art to Ed Ruscha, Die Hard to Black Hawk Down and Lethal Weapon have acted as inspirations for it.

The short, like a lot of their work, features a clean graphic animation style that itself apes the brands they're referencing. It was also an interesting choice for the animators because they themselves have worked for these companies on commercial projects—and here they are critiquing them, biting the hand that feeds.

It's been seven years now since the film was first released, where it went on to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It still seems fresh today though and its message as relevant as ever.