Tooq Perfumes: Animating luxury with a CGI panther

Saudi Arabian brand Tooq Perfumes approached us about a launch campaign for their new fragrance. This was the cornerstone of a major rebranding, so we had to give it our absolute best. Their vision: a powerful, iconic animation that the audience would remember forever and associate with their brand.

Our first task was to ground the client’s mythical vision in realism. The initial request was for a “black tiger,” but while melanistic tigers do exist, they’re never all-black, and audiences could get confused by a panther or jaguar-like cat with a tiger head. We thus agreed on a black panther animation, keeping that mysterious, powerful essence that reflected their concept. The next task was to breathe life into this creature. This meant meticulously rendering hyper-realistic fur and choreographing its movements, with emphasis on a jump sequence. All this was happening under a tight pre-Christmas deadline: just days. Suffice to say, this required a super collaborative partnership with tons of communication.

Our process thrives on a fluid, iterative dialogue, allowing us to translate ambitious concepts into pixel-perfect reality. The core narrative of the CGI black panther animation followed the panther’s journey from a snowy forest through a portal into a modern gallery. Through a meticulous feedback loop, we honed the gallery’s atmosphere to perfection. This involved adding snowy trees behind the windows to make the interior “more winter,” darkening the walls to add “mist and darkness,” and adding “gold” molding to make the space “a little bit more luxury.” This dedication to refinement transformed the initial concept into a polished and compelling final narrative.

Tooq’s successful launch exceeded all expectations. “We love it, now it’s perfect,” they said, plus, “the touches you added made the scene even more striking.” Our key achievement this time was an animation so realistic, you couldn’t tell the panther was CGI. Proof that CGI animation is a more affordable, convenient, creatively flexible, and, not least, much more ethical option than working with live animals and physical locations.