NBCU x Walt Disney Studios - Toy Story 5 x American Ninja Warrior Promo
Toys. Tech. Total Commitment.
When NBCUniversal and Walt Disney Studios partnered to promote Toy Story 5 during the Season 18 premiere of American Ninja Warrior, they faced a unique challenge: making audiences believe that Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and Lilypad belonged on one of television's most demanding obstacle courses.
The campaign included a :30 broadcast promo, a :10 bumper, and a :05 sneak peek intro leading into an exclusive Toy Story 5 trailer. Pixar provided character performances, while NBCUniversal supplied footage and stills from the American Ninja Warrior course. Our challenge was turning those existing assets into a cohesive story, all within a three-week production timeline.
The creative centered on a simple rivalry: Toys versus Tech. Rather than treating the Toy Story characters as guests inside the footage, we approached them as competitors. Through design, editorial, compositing, color, sound design, and finishing, we integrated the characters into the course and built a narrative that felt playful, competitive, and true to both brands. A tightly coordinated workflow allowed us to move from supplied assets to final broadcast-ready creative at speed.
The campaign aired during the American Ninja Warrior Season 18 premiere, which reached 2.64 million same-day viewers. We also created a 9:16 social version for digital platforms, extending the campaign beyond broadcast. The host of ANW, Zuri Hall, posted this version to her Instagram, which garnered 1.4 million views.
The best crossover campaigns make audiences forget they're watching marketing. By making these two worlds feel like they naturally belonged together, we helped turn a promotional spot into a story worth watching.
Toys. Tech. Total Commitment.
When NBCUniversal and Walt Disney Studios partnered to promote Toy Story 5 during the Season 18 premiere of American Ninja Warrior, they faced a unique challenge: making audiences believe that Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and Lilypad belonged on one of television's most demanding obstacle courses.
The campaign included a :30 broadcast promo, a :10 bumper, and a :05 sneak peek intro leading into an exclusive Toy Story 5 trailer. Pixar provided character performances, while NBCUniversal supplied footage and stills from the American Ninja Warrior course. Our challenge was turning those existing assets into a cohesive story, all within a three-week production timeline.
The creative centered on a simple rivalry: Toys versus Tech. Rather than treating the Toy Story characters as guests inside the footage, we approached them as competitors. Through design, editorial, compositing, color, sound design, and finishing, we integrated the characters into the course and built a narrative that felt playful, competitive, and true to both brands. A tightly coordinated workflow allowed us to move from supplied assets to final broadcast-ready creative at speed.
The campaign aired during the American Ninja Warrior Season 18 premiere, which reached 2.64 million same-day viewers. We also created a 9:16 social version for digital platforms, extending the campaign beyond broadcast. The host of ANW, Zuri Hall, posted this version to her Instagram, which garnered 1.4 million views.
The best crossover campaigns make audiences forget they're watching marketing. By making these two worlds feel like they naturally belonged together, we helped turn a promotional spot into a story worth watching.
Toys. Tech. Total Commitment.
When NBCUniversal and Walt Disney Studios partnered to promote Toy Story 5 during the Season 18 premiere of American Ninja Warrior, they faced a unique challenge: making audiences believe that Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and Lilypad belonged on one of television's most demanding obstacle courses.
The campaign included a :30 broadcast promo, a :10 bumper, and a :05 sneak peek intro leading into an exclusive Toy Story 5 trailer. Pixar provided character performances, while NBCUniversal supplied footage and stills from the American Ninja Warrior course. Our challenge was turning those existing assets into a cohesive story, all within a three-week production timeline.
The creative centered on a simple rivalry: Toys versus Tech. Rather than treating the Toy Story characters as guests inside the footage, we approached them as competitors. Through design, editorial, compositing, color, sound design, and finishing, we integrated the characters into the course and built a narrative that felt playful, competitive, and true to both brands. A tightly coordinated workflow allowed us to move from supplied assets to final broadcast-ready creative at speed.
The campaign aired during the American Ninja Warrior Season 18 premiere, which reached 2.64 million same-day viewers. We also created a 9:16 social version for digital platforms, extending the campaign beyond broadcast. The host of ANW, Zuri Hall, posted this version to her Instagram, which garnered 1.4 million views.
The best crossover campaigns make audiences forget they're watching marketing. By making these two worlds feel like they naturally belonged together, we helped turn a promotional spot into a story worth watching.
Toys. Tech. Total Commitment.
When NBCUniversal and Walt Disney Studios partnered to promote Toy Story 5 during the Season 18 premiere of American Ninja Warrior, they faced a unique challenge: making audiences believe that Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and Lilypad belonged on one of television's most demanding obstacle courses.
The campaign included a :30 broadcast promo, a :10 bumper, and a :05 sneak peek intro leading into an exclusive Toy Story 5 trailer. Pixar provided character performances, while NBCUniversal supplied footage and stills from the American Ninja Warrior course. Our challenge was turning those existing assets into a cohesive story, all within a three-week production timeline.
The creative centered on a simple rivalry: Toys versus Tech. Rather than treating the Toy Story characters as guests inside the footage, we approached them as competitors. Through design, editorial, compositing, color, sound design, and finishing, we integrated the characters into the course and built a narrative that felt playful, competitive, and true to both brands. A tightly coordinated workflow allowed us to move from supplied assets to final broadcast-ready creative at speed.
The campaign aired during the American Ninja Warrior Season 18 premiere, which reached 2.64 million same-day viewers. We also created a 9:16 social version for digital platforms, extending the campaign beyond broadcast. The host of ANW, Zuri Hall, posted this version to her Instagram, which garnered 1.4 million views.
The best crossover campaigns make audiences forget they're watching marketing. By making these two worlds feel like they naturally belonged together, we helped turn a promotional spot into a story worth watching.
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Credits
Client
NBCU x Walt Disney Studios
VP, Creative, NBCU
Sharon Ngoi
Associate Creative Director, NBCU
Dan O’halloran
Senior Director, Production, NBCU
Sal Jurado
Senior Project Director, NBCU
Kendal Stavros
Director, Creative Content, Walt Disney Studios
Mike Sylvester
Director, Integrated Marketing & Synergy, Walt Disney Studios
Whitney Abatemarco Toretti
Agency
BIEN
Creative Director
Hung Le
Executive Producer
Ricardo Roberts
Senior Creative Producer
Nicole Beyer
Illustration and Design
Insert Name
2D Animators & Compositors
Karl Hein, Dustin Scott
3D Animation
Dustin Scott
Offline Editors
Quan Tran, Chris Hall
Online Editor
Trussell Giles
Assistent Editor
Trussell Giles
Colorist
Paul Bupte
Sound Design, Mix & Master
Joe Basile (The Chicken Sound)
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