Case studies
Shak Tea 3D Animated LPL Advertisement
This project explored a fun, energetic 3D animated concept for Shak Tea's launch in Sri Lanka. The campaign was built around short-form commercial stories where everyday characters overcome moments of tiredness and low energy with the help of Shak Tea. Drawing visual inspiration from the popular Sri Lankan 3D animated film Gajaman, the project combined character animation, storytelling, product integration and sound design to create a distinctly Sri Lankan yet highly entertaining commercial concept.
Client
Shak Tea Energy Drink
Sector
Beverage · Sri Lanka
Engagement
Specialized Services
Delivered
October 2022
The work
Three Stories. One Energy Boost.
Infinite Labs developed a series of three quick, energetic 3D commercial concepts, each built around a simple transformation: a character starts tired and unmotivated, the Genie appears with Shak Tea, and the character suddenly gets the energy needed to complete their objective.
01 — The Tuk Tuk Rider
A tired tuk tuk driver struggles through a hot, sunny day on the road. When the Genie appears with a Shak Tea, his energy is restored and he suddenly has the power to ride across the road at incredible speed.
02 — The Athlete
A young female athlete finishes a 100m training run, disappointed by her timing and visibly exhausted. The Genie arrives with Shak Tea, giving her a burst of energy that transforms her performance as she races around the track at incredible speed.
03 — The Everyday Character
The third concept brought the same energetic storytelling approach into a familiar Sri Lankan home environment, using the Genie and Shak Tea as the catalyst for transforming an ordinary moment of tiredness into one of renewed energy.
The idea
From Concept to Character
The project was developed as a 3D animated production, requiring the characters to be designed not only around their individual stories but also around the exaggerated, energetic visual language of the campaign. The Genie was developed as a recurring character and the central link between each story and the Shak Tea product. Character movement, expressions and energetic transformations were designed to make the short commercials feel playful and engaging, while sound design and animation worked together to reinforce each character's journey from exhaustion to renewed energy.
On the road
At the track
At the desk
The challenge
Creating a Distinctive 3D World Inspired by Gajaman
The project needed to follow the visual direction of Gajaman, one of Sri Lanka’s most recognisable 3D animated movie releases at the time, while developing an original commercial concept for Shak Tea. The challenge was to capture the appeal of that 3D animated style and familiar Sri Lankan atmosphere while creating new characters, environments and stories that could work within a short commercial format.
The driver — proportion
The student — surfacing
The athlete — expression
What we did
From Storyboards to 3D Animation
Wrote three stories with the client, not for them
The concepts were developed jointly with Shak Tea's team. That is why there are three rather than one with notes: each was written to stand on its own, and the client saw all three before anything was modelled.
Cast three lives, not three demographics
A tuk driver mid-shift, a sprinter training at Sugathadasa, a student the night before an exam. Specific enough to be someone, ordinary enough to be anyone watching.
Modelled characters to sit inside the reference
Character modelling decided whether the whole thing worked. Proportion, surfacing and expression were built against the reference look rather than against our own house style — including the Genie, who had to read as a rescue and not a threat.
Built a world for each story
A rural road, a stadium and a house at night, each developed as its own environment but lit and surfaced to the same rules, so three separate films still read as one campaign.
Ran it across departments, not down a queue
Story, modelling, environment, animation and post worked in parallel rather than handing off in sequence. On a schedule this tight that is the only way three films land together.
Outcome
What was delivered
Three
Story concepts developed with Shak Tea, each produced as a complete film rather than a pitch board.
10 seconds each
Of finished 3D animation per film, built to hold its own in a national ad break.
15–20 days
Of production behind them, across story, modelling, environment, animation and post.
The films ran on television during the Lanka Premier League, alongside the product’s launch in Sri Lanka. Internally this is the project we point at when someone asks what a full creative department looks like, because almost every part of ours had a hand in it.
Credit where it belongs: Shak Tea brought us the opportunity and stayed in the room while the stories were built. That is the version of this work that produces something worth airing.
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