‘I’d like to go into the sea with you’. Then the person to whom the message is addressed stands ready in his swimming costume. Which was not the intention. Visual miscommunication is one of the most common examples of miscommunication, especially when there is a lack of knowledge and understanding about each others language and culture. At Undutchables they know all about it. They mediate in international positions, including for expats. For a campaign, they wanted to portray uncomfortable situations that could arise due to misinterpretation. C4Real received this assignment and came up with the visual solution: 2D explainer animations.
The assignment was to portray uncomfortable situations that arise from misinterpretation of cultural differences in a fun way, with a wink to Undutchables, where this - due to their team's knowledge of culture-related behaviors and habits - is a prime example of what does not happen. Undutchables had worked out 3 typical situations for this exact purpose. You already read about the first situation above, the 2nd situation was about an invitation to a lunch by a franҫaise (where it is customary to have a longer lunch and usually with wine) and the 3rd situation was a gesture for the number 2 that is interpreted differently by an Englishman than by a Dutchman. C4Real elaborated on these situations with 2D explanation animations. A 2D explanation animation offers the possibility to represent the situation in a fun and light-hearted way, with imagary and sound.
The process
At C4Real, before starting any production, we'd like to start with an analysis of the subject. A concept phase and a production phase follow. In this case, however, it went differently. The customer itself had already prepared the 3 examples and knew exactly what they wanted. C4Real could easily pick this up and worked it out immediately. Within 1.5 days the production was ready and to the full satisfaction of the customer. Things can happen really fast!
The final result
The end result is here. A smooth animation with 3 examples of intercultural miscommunication, portrayed clearly and lightheartedly. It immediately shows how a misinterpretation can chill the interaction between two business partners and lead to angry reactions.
By portraying recognizable situations in a fun and light-hearted way, there is a good chance that potential clients and candidates will remember the animation and thus spontaneously think of Undutchables. Undutchables' reputation is thus increased relatively easily. Moreover, the 2d animation is not too long, so it lends itself well to posting on social media.
