This year at the inaugural NYFAi Advertising Competition, CYLNDR Studios partnered with the Duke Lemur Center to create an award-winning nonprofit advertisement leveraging LTX Studio’s AI-powered platform. The collaboration aligned perfectly with the Duke Lemur Center’s mission of non-invasive lemur research, enabling the creation of compelling marketing materials that did not put any stress on this endangered species.  

The campaign, “Closer Than You Think” won Gold at the inaugural NYFAi Advertising Competition, proving that AI technology can be the most ethical storytelling choice while also creating meaningful impact.

Introduction

The Duke Lemur Center is a world-renowned research facility dedicated to lemur conservation and non-invasive scientific study. As one of the leading institutions for primate research, the Center has a strong and admirable commitment to conducting valuable animal research without creating harm, causing stress, or removing lemurs from their natural habitat and day-to-day activities. 

CYLNDR Studios, a design-forward creative studio, recognized the NYFAi competition as a unique opportunity to support the Center’s mission through LTX Studio’s AI-powered video creation platform.

The Challenge

The biggest hurdle was obvious: how do you create an engaging, professional nonprofit video all about lemurs, without disturbing any lemurs? 

CYLNDR Studios Senior Producer Nick Brenton elaborated: 

‍”AI laddered up to [the creative idea] perfectly, and the client was stoked that we were doing this partnership. We could create marketing materials for them that did not harm or put the animals under any stress at all. We weren’t filming the animals, we weren’t going there with lights and crew and putting the animals under stress.”

Traditional production methods—requiring bright lights, multiple takes, heavy and obtrusive equipment, and large crew and personnel—would undoubtedly disrupt the lemurs' habitat and cause them unnecessary stress. 

The Solution

In a situation like this, when complex video production wasn’t an option, the solution was clear: LTX Studio.

LTX Studio’s AI-powered technology was the key to creating a nonprofit video that supported and reflected The Duke Lemur Center’s commitment to ethical integrity.

AI-Powered Content Creation

By using AI-generated materials, the CYLNDR team eliminated the need for any on-site filming or animal interference. In addition, Nick Brenton pointed out the massive benefit this created for the larger team:

“With LTX you’re able to explore, you’re able to experiment, you’re able to change things. You don’t really have to worry about the money you might lose or the time you might waste of other people.”

Streamlined Creative Process

Leveraging LTX Studio’s all-in-one platform was a turning point for CYLNDR’s workflow. 

Carlos Ortega, Associate Creative Director, explained:

‍“The LTX platform impacted the way I approach filmmaking in a few different ways—I feel like it opened up what we could do and helped streamline the process a lot. We had image generation, image editing, motion generation, as well as a timeline feature all in the same platform so it was immensely helpful in keeping things organized and allowed us to really push the boundaries on what we can do.”

‍Enhanced Creative Freedom 

Suz Keen, Executive Creative Director, captured the effects of using an AI-powered approach in developing creative concepts:

‍“Using AI to make something we couldn't shoot otherwise really unlocked a more imaginative way of working. That early decision pushed us into a more fantastical place and it helped us really focus on creativity, not just efficiency.”

The Results

Bringing together specialized skillsets from the CYLNDR Studios team, The Duke Lemur Center, and the LTX Studio platform allowed the campaign to reach more people and earn acclaim at the NYFAi awards.

• Award Recognition: The campaign won the Gold Tower Award at the NYFAi Advertising Competition. As Sylvain Tron, Managing Director of CYLNDR Studios elaborated: “This changes everything—including how you approach your process and your creative workflow.”

• Industry Impact: By merging creative workflows with ethical responsibility, this kind of work proves to other professional creatives not only what’s possible, but also how AI can push creative work forward and perfectly align with client goals. 

• Creative Workflow Transformation: The LTX Studio platform changed how CYLNDR approaches projects that require ethical considerations in the brainstorming process. Tron summed it up: “What used to be impossible to do is now possible, and it’s really getting into that mindset that affects every step that you are used to. The way that you approach a specific project historically changes.”

The Impact

Associate Creative Director Carlos Ortega felt that the LTX Studio platform included familiar tools in an organized environment:

“It opened up what we could do and helped streamline the process a lot. We had image generation, image editing, motion generation, as well as a timeline feature all in the same platform, so it was immensely helpful in keeping things organized and allowed us to really push the boundaries on what we can do.”

Or, as Executive Creative Director Can Misirlioglu mentioned, “we really appreciated how LTX felt like it was giving [us] as much decision making power and creative control over components without veering into something so technical that we would get bogged down.”

In these ways, the LTX Studio platform allowed CYLNDR Studios and Duke Lemur Center to partner in creating something that not only benefited the creative team, who were able to work more efficiently and more imaginatively, but also benefited the main subject of the video: the lemurs.

Interested in how LTX Studio can support your next campaign? Join the community of agencies pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in advertising today.