When Quality Meats developed the concept for a new campaign for SpringWell Water Filtration Systems, they weren’t looking for a traditional product demo. The idea centered on a character—“Walter," a lonely, contaminant-laden droplet of water—who could emotionally personify the problem the product solves.
To bring that vision to life, Quality Meats partnered with Flesh and Bones to create a unique mixed-media spot that blurred the lines between disciplines. We took a hands-on creative approach, assembling a specialized, global team led by director Aaron Ray, to execute the concept.
Ray began by developing Walter with a curated group of 2D illustrators—along with his own early designs—before translating the character into a fully tactile world. The result: a stop-motion-driven spot (roughly 80% practical) where “Dirty Walter” performs a custom, Sinatra-style lounge track, as he wanders aimlessly through a home’s interior pipes, weighed down by contaminant gremlins.
We then brought in stop-motion animators Lindsay Berkebile and Rich Zimm from Planet Super Studios, with art direction by Doug Cummings, to build and animate the clay-made Walter character and handcrafted environments frame by frame—leaning into texture, imperfection, and physicality.
The remaining 20% was executed in 3D, but with a mandate to feel indistinguishable from the practical work. London-based animator Kapi Kurtaran used a VR-based workflow to sculpt and animate “Clean Walter,” while Denver-based Joey Gasiorek created stylized environments and product renderings that echoed the claymation aesthetic.
The transformation from “Dirty Walter” to “Clean Walter” becomes both narrative and technical sleight of hand—blending mediums seamlessly while showcasing the product’s impact.
In a production landscape increasingly dominated by automation and AI, the project stands out for the opposite reason: it’s intentionally handmade. By steering into craft—combining illustration, stop-motion, and experimental 3D workflows—we helped deliver a distinctive, character-led campaign that feels tactile, emotional, and unmistakably human.