AllTrails is a leading hiking and outdoor navigation app, helping millions of people discover, plan and navigate trails around the globe. For its 'Sorry for Interrupting campaign', the creative brief centred around a simple, thoughtful message: a calm, measured invitation to turn the TV off, find a local trail through the Alltrails app and head outdoors. Rather than demanding attention, the films were designed to offer a moment of quiet reflection.
Seeking an illustrator to encourage people to step away from their screens and reconnect with nature, Paul Blow was the perfect fit.
A keen hiker, known for his love of expansive landscapes, Paul developed three distinct environments: a pine forest framed by dramatic rock formations and a cascading waterfall; an East Coast-inspired woodland clearing with gently swaying trees beside a babbling creek; and a Southwest desert landscape at dawn with epic views.
Animator Andy Sandwich joined the project early in the process, collaborating closely with both Paul and the AllTrails team to identify which elements of each illustration would come to life. By producing rough animatics while the artwork was still in development, Andy helped shape the movement from the outset, streamlining production and ensuring the animation enhanced, rather than distracted from, Paul's compositions.
The result is a series of beautifully restrained animated landscapes that provide a welcome break amongst from the relentless pace of social feeds. While Paul Blow is often celebrated for his witty concepts and visual storytelling, this campaign showcases a more contemplative side of his work, capturing the quiet beauty of the natural world and perfectly reflecting AllTrails' invitation to get outside.
