A putter ad, all CGI.

In 2023 we made a TV ad for an LA Golf putter without a camera. Every frame is CGI. The putter, the light on it and every move it makes were built, not filmed.

Why build, not shoot

A putter is a precise object. Its value is in the face, the line and the finish, details that are hard to light on a set and easy to lose in a cut. In CGI the product is exact from every angle, the light does what you ask, and the camera can go where no real camera fits. The product can also be shown in ways that are hard to stage on a set.

How a CGI ad comes together

The steps are simple to name. Each one is where the craft sits.

• Model: the product built in 3D, true to the real one
• Light: the look of the material, set shot by shot
• Motion: how the product moves, and how the camera moves around it
• Finish: render, color and sound, then every cut and size

The model is the foundation. If the object is not right, nothing after it can save the shot. Light is where a 3D model starts to look like a real thing you could hold. Motion decides what the viewer notices and in what order. Finish turns frames into an ad that is ready for the screen it will run on.

One build, many uses

Once the model exists, it keeps working. The same build can make a TV spot, social cuts and stills for a product page. Our Studio delivers every cut and size, from TV and CTV specs to 9:16, and our Design team hands over the files and motion toolkits so the asset keeps living after launch. That is the quiet advantage of CGI. The first ad is the hardest one. Every cut after it starts from a finished build.

More of our work in 3D

• Project Articulate: the Cobra Puma Golf shoe in 3D CGI, with a golf video
• Solana: their NFT phone, designed in 3D
• JD Sports: 3D animations, 2025 to 2026

What a CGI brief needs

A CGI ad is only as good as what goes into the model. Come with four things, and the build starts on solid ground.

• The product, or its design files, so the model is exact
• Reference for the finish: how the material should look in light
• The one detail the ad has to sell
• Where it will run, from TV to 9:16

When CGI is the right call

• The product's detail is the story.
• The look has to match across TV, social and the product page.
• The shot cannot be filmed for real.
• The product is not ready to photograph yet.
• You want one build that keeps making new cuts.

CGI also pairs well with filmed work. For ZBiotics we made spots for connected TV alongside always on social, so one brand holds from the phone to the TV. The right mix depends on the product, and we will tell you which one yours needs.

Have a product that deserves a closer look? Book a call. We will show you what it could look like built in 3D.