Why smart chocolate brands choose CGI: saving costs while maximizing creative control

When TOLD Agency approached us about the premium Saudi Arabian chocolate brand Fahda, we knew it was going to be a challenging project. Luxury sweets mean two things. One: you can’t taste the picture, so the picture has to reflect the flavors as well as possible. Two: without a strong visual identity, the brand won’t sell. 

Our client envisioned a (to quote them) “dreamworld” of flavors. In other words, a concept that transcends the physical world and enters the realm of sensation. To us, that meant another thing: this was a case of “impossible shot.” Despite its name, that’s our specialty. So we designed a chocolate piece that breaks apart to release an explosion of elements reflecting the flavors within. It goes without saying, this could never be achieved with traditional photography.

CGI was the better, smarter solution for Fahda’s vision. They had unlimited creative control and got their desired results faster than any photography studio could deliver. What’s more, the first animation delivered such great results, we started an ongoing partnership right after, delivering two more animations and, if we can say so ourselves, a yummy and stunning campaign. 

Here’s how we translated an ambitious, abstract concept into a chocolate CGI animation campaign with instant conversions.

Sometimes, our team talks to the client for hours before we both agree on a creative vision. This time, TOLD already had a strong concept in mind: animate a piece of Fahda chocolate breaking open to release a “surreal world” of orbiting elements. These elements would reflect — as well as a visual element could — the sensory experience of tasting Fahda’s premium chocolates. 

But we had to do more than show they’re premium. We had to evoke an emotion, too. That’s why our original vision included an awe-inspiring architectural element, like a grand arch, that the camera would close on, pass through, and reveal the chocolate dreamworld inside. We ended up abandoning the arch, instead going for a richer, minimalist look.

We work with a shared brief, where we communicate with the client until we agree on the final vision. We agreed on a cascade of symbolic visuals: graceful butterflies, hummingbirds mid-air, delicate blooming flowers, and shimmering gemstones. Each element was carefully chosen to tell the chocolate’s story and flavor. Basically, we’d be building desire through hyper-realistic, idealized visuals, just like high-end cosmetic product animation. The end goal is to create an irresistible appeal that, needless to say, will also drive sales.

To build a 3D model, our artists need reference pictures. In this case, we had photos of various Fahda chocolates, including the wafer-filled and pistachio pieces, as they are or broken in half. Our team identified the first key challenge here: making the break-up animation believable. A perfect digital slice would look artificial, so we decided to go for a more “uneven cut” to give it that organic feel. Smart tricks like these are why, most of the time, people can’t tell a CGI photo apart from the real thing!

In many ways, this is where our real partnership with TOLD and Fahda began. Every day, we’d receive feedback and do live review sessions, until TOLD’s creative director thought we nailed the “appetite appeal.” One of their first notes was to make the chocolate less plastic. Then, to add more grain. Finally, to make the fillings appear even more decadent, we tweaked the shaders to give the cream a glossier finish. With that done, we then moved to arguably the most fun part — the “impossible shot.”

With the 3D models complete, we moved to making the environment. TOLD’s vision was a “dreamy feeling with cinematic lighting.” This is where CGI truly shines. It’s what we call the “impossible shot,” a.k.a. a scene that could never be captured in a real-world photography studio.

The environment around the chocolate was as dreamy as it gets: we added gold, gemstones, and blooming flowers, and we had them orbit the chocolate gently. Environments should never be a distraction from the hero piece; just a layer that tells its story better.

Then came the meticulous texturing and shading, which nailed the desired aesthetic: hazy atmosphere and dramatic depth of field. Our artists also spent hours on lighting. Light is vital in any photography (physical or CGI), and knowing how to play with it is often the core of great CGI art. In this case, we used light to create shiny flares and emphasize the volume of each element. The TOLD team was as impressed as us: they got exactly what they wanted, and they knew this dreamworld would have been impossible (without tons of compromises) in a traditional photography studio.

Onto our final stage, where a rapid-fire feedback loop led to several micro adjustments. We refined each and every aspect using shared presentation slides for detailed notes and live video calls. Think particle motion, color saturation, and of course, the final composition. Sometimes all it takes is one more hummingbird to complete the vision.

We also need to stress something out: we were operating under a super-tight deadline from the start. Our client needed a final delivery on the Friday before the Sunday campaign launch. That’s why video calls and real-time edits are vital here!

Our team also dedicated a powerful render farm (4 GPUs) to process the final high-definition animations in time. However, this project’s success depended on speed just as much as on versatility. Fahda’s campaign was destined for dozens of different digital banner formats across Riyadh and Jeddah. We thus delivered the final assets as complete videos and PNG sequences with transparency. This meant Fahda could composite the animations over myriad backgrounds. In fact, they could even reuse single elements in static ads without a new render. It saved them time and money and gave them immense creative control.

The results speak for themselves. First, we’re happy. Then, the client is happy. Then, the client gets results (and is even happier, we hope!). For TOLD and their client Fahda, the business goal was to launch a massive, multi-city digital out-of-home (DOOH) campaign that would stop consumers in their tracks. And we did just that.

Their campaign arrived on Digital Steel Bridges, Digital Unipoles, and Digital Flagpoles in major hubs like Riyadh and Jeddah. Its visual impact was immediate. Fahda themselves said the project “called a lot of attention,” with the animations in particular getting serious industry buzz. This immediate success led to a commission for two more product videos. For us, that’s proof that CGI is king in e-commerce today. More often than not, we start with a simple collab and end with ongoing partnerships for several campaigns and launches.

That’s because CGI assets are high quality and crazy flexible. With the final assets, the client has a strong reusable toolkit for future marketing, too.

The Fahda luxury chocolate project is a great example of how CGI can solve the “impossible shot”, or the creative and logistical challenges of traditional methods. From visually reflecting flavor and brand identity to delivering a huge asset package under a tight deadline, CGI did it all. Well, our team did. Working with CGI professionals means you get more power, more control, and fewer headaches around time and cost.

Our thorough 3D modeling process is guaranteed to bring any product to life, in any way you want it to. Brand identity and credibility are our specialties. If you’re curious how it works, check out our complete guide to CGI & 3D product rendering and, why not, get in touch with us today.