Welcome to the enchanting town of Admouth. While it may often surprise you with its quirks, the steadfast Admiral, accompanied by her loyal canine, Alfie, ensures every challenge is met with a solution.

The latest commercial for Admiral Insurance, “Lost and Hound”, wistfully brought to life by Director Steve Small of Studio AKA, tells the story of how Admiral and her trusty four-legged sidekick, Alfie, first met. While out on a countryside drive with her mum and dad, the young Admiral loses her hat, which blows away and lands by the roadside. There it’s discovered by a curious pup (Alfie!) who watches the car vanish over the hill and immediately springs into action. Vaulting over a dry stone wall, Alfie embarks on an epic quest through all weathers, selflessly helping others along the way. His journey climaxes as he leaps from a cliff edge, using the young Admiral’s hat as a parachute (with a little helicopter-tail assistance for balance) to land in Admouth Park, where he returns the hat to its grateful owner. Alfie carefully places the hat back on the young Admiral’s head, and, racing forward through the years, we see the adult Admiral return the gesture, officially welcoming Alfie into the Admiral team.

AKA Director Steve Small designed & directed the campaign to reflect a sense of nostalgia. With that in mind, the team at AKA has crafted the CGI with a nod to traditional model animation visual cues, with the endearing characters inhabiting a beautifully rich & diverse British seaside town. Backed by a team of CGI artists & animators, the resulting work is charming, bright and heart-warming and creates a world both familiar and unexpected at the same time.

Dir. Steve Small comments:

“We worked with McCann to create a cosy coastal town that reminded us all of a nostalgic past, but one that also sits firmly in today’s world. Model animation (the animation many of us would have grown up with) was an inspiration and starting point not only in the look but also how gentle it always seemed to be. We wanted any on-screen crisis to be relatable but deal-able with light humour and deftness to the character performance.”