Rolls-Royce had a wide range of complex apprenticeships to promote, and needed budding engineers to understand the nuances between them. With a long list of potential roles, it needed to stop young people as they were ‘doom-scrolling’ and maintain their interest long enough to consider the intricacies of each role. But talking heads videos might not stand out, and digital CGI not tangible enough for mechanically-minded candidates. That said, the visual craft needed to harness insights from real apprentices.

The company worked with Blackbridge to create a stop-motion animation that would build a city representative of the wider world of Rolls-Royce. The films would use real parts and tools relative to each role, but use miniature figurines of apprentices next to them to show the scale of working for an engineering giant like Rolls-Royce. To show a diverse mix of staff, the figurines were hand-painted with fine brushes. The filming itself was painstaking but visually communicated substance over style. The soundtrack amplified this sense of scale and was designed to make Rolls-Royce feel like a place and career that was always on the move.

The firm’s goal was to list their apprenticeships in a way that was as innovative and memorable as possible, with the main ‘hero’ video appearing on the students and graduates section of its careers website. The video has helped boost application numbers by more than 2,000, with an increase in female and ethnically diverse candidates. Furthermore, the quality of candidates has meant that Rolls-Royce has been able to make offers to the majority of applicants.