Rate Certainty Annuity Explainer: American National 2D Animation

A white sphere that bounces wherever the market sends it and a yellow one that rolls straight carry the whole argument of this film. American National Insurance Company's Rate Certainty Annuity enters an indexed annuity market full of complicated indices and strategies, and the viewers were financial advisors and agents who have to explain it to retirement-planning clients.

Motion Giraffx opened on the American National logo and the product title, then set a yellow sphere among white geometric shapes on a blue field to stand for clarity among options. The sphere rolls up a rising graph line. Gold coins drop into a locked cylindrical vault. Three yellow spheres, each with a lock, introduce the three triggered crediting strategies, and the white sphere bounces erratically to show renewal-rate uncertainty against the steady yellow path. The closing card carries the logo, the web address and the policy disclaimers.

The craft call was to use one character. Because the narration talks about one S&P index and three strategies, a single sphere that changes surroundings is easier for an advisor to repeat to a client than a cast of icons.

Financial products are abstract by nature, and 2D animation gives them a body without turning them into cartoons. For a film that has to say something precise about money, it is the format we would choose.