Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Psyop (company)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was no consensus. A large number of sources were presented here, but there's disagreement about whether the sources presented here, in the article, and/or found via other searches, meet WP:SIGCOV. -- RoySmith (talk) 16:41, 30 October 2019 (UTC)

Psyop (company)

 * – ( View AfD View log  Stats )

A directory-like listing for an unremarkable production company. Reads more like a puff promotional piece than anything else. Does not meet WP:NCORP; significant WP:RS coverage not found. Please delete [edit: or draftify] per WP:NCORP and WP:NOTFORPROMOTION. Thank you! [Edit: The article was created by User:Justincone's single-purpose account, back when he worked for Psyop.]—Unforgettableid (talk) 21:32, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Companies-related deletion discussions. —Unforgettableid (talk) 21:32, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of New York-related deletion discussions. Shellwood (talk) 22:01, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, ~Swarm~  {sting} 00:13, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep passes WP:GNG. This is am award winning advertisement company. Promotional material should be removed by an ambitious editor. Note: the same three templates were attached to another article AfD'd by the nominator. It is rather uninspiring to presuppose an article's deficiencies. Lightburst (talk) 00:58, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Any references? Also, are any of those awards notable?  HighKing++ 22:18, 15 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Delete: I do not see sources that meet WP:NCORP / WP:CORPDEPTH. --K.e.coffman (talk) 17:23, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Delete I am unable to locate any references that meet the criteria for establishing notability. I am unconvinced that any of the awards are notable (but happy to revisit this !vote if there are notable awards here) - for example looking at the list of "Daytime Emmy Awards" there looks to be a lot of winners.  HighKing++ 22:18, 15 October 2019 (UTC)

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.   </li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> </ol>

<ol> <li> The article notes: "Psyop easily could be dubbed the Pixar of the spots world, given its reputation as the go-to shop for top notch animation and design. Known for now classic Coke ads such as 'Happiness Factory,' the company turned out more stellar work with the charming 'Man and Dog' short film for the beverage giant out of Wieden & Kennedy. With Director Fletcher Moules, the company also helped to develop the colorful backstory to the characters of Super Cell's popular 'Clash of Clans' game in spots via Barton F. Graf 9000. Those included an unexpected Super Bowl favorite, starring Liam Neeson in 'Taken' character as a vengeful game player, AngryNeeson52 (the live action portion of which was directed by MJZ's Tom Kuntz). ... The company also brought unparalleled sophistication to paint advertising in an entrancing spot for Sherwin-Williams from McKinney. On a more massive scale, Psyop brought the game of soccer to epic, out of this world proportions in the over-the-top athletes meets aliens campaign for the Samsung Galaxy, via Cheil Worldwide."</li> <li> The article notes: "You're going to get brainwashed. You're going to be sitting on your couch, watching your favorite show when it breaks for a commercial. You'll see a man napping in the grass next to a bottle of Coke and you'll be somewhat annoyed. But then zooooommmmmm, you'll be flying through a cloud of dandelion dander with a lazy formation of bumblebees. Then back down in the grass. You will see the expression on a grasshopper's face. The whole insect world will conspire around you, working together with orchestral precision to steal that guy's Coke. Pretty soon you'll stop wondering how long this is going to take and you start wondering how they're going to get the top off that bottle. And that is how Psyop gets you — with commercials that don't feel like advertisements at all, but rather minimovies. Commercials that, per the company's name, trick you into thinking they're something else — entertainment and fun. The aforementioned one for Coke, 'Heist,' has been viewed more than six hundred thousand times on YouTube. Another Coke ad, 'Happiness Factory,' hit two million views this summer, all powered by word of mouth and e-mail links sent friend to friend: ... It's the same formula New York-based Psyop has perfected on dozens of other campaigns that have generated millions of views around the world: Come up with a crazy concept first, then worry about inventing the technology to make it happen. Check out its work for UPS: an entire world you could walk into that looks as if it were fashioned from corrugated cardboard. Or the vodka bottle that explodes through your monitor for Absolut. Or the animals of the forest dancing for Orangina. Every Psyop commercial is a digital universe to get lost in and amazed by and pass on to your friends."</li> <li> The article notes: "Psyop started as a team of rendegade MTV design obsessives but has become another top player in prime position to address advertising's increasing demand for breakout ideas and imaginative storytelling. Known for its elegant and well-thought out visuals, the company demonstrated Pixar-competitive chops on the magnificent, character-filled world it created for Coke's feel good 'Happiness Factory,' out of WK/London. Meanwhile, it has added breadth and depth to its offerings with the addition of MassMarket, a design-oriented effects shop fronted by former Method man Chris Staves, and Blacklist, home to a fresh new class of international, media-agnostic talents."</li> <li> The article notes: "Intruders? Yes, maybe five, ten years ago, when the industry might have considered a group of animator/designers inappropriate for a directors report. But now, no one's questioning if Psyop belongs. The collective was conceived in an experimental graphics lab at MTV?even there they were outsiders?but since breaking off to form a new company in 2000, Psyop has helped to reshape what we've come to know as commercials storytelling. Over the years, team members Marie Hyon, Kylie Matulick, Eben Mears, Marco Spier and Todd Mueller (seen below, from left) have injected their distinctive visual imprint onto the spots world, evident in notable work for Lugz, Starbucks, Nike, Honda and MTV. Meanwhile, they've evolved into something more warm, fuzzy and character-driven. Look no further than recent spots for Fanta, the beloved Coca-Cola 'Happiness Factory' (and its upcoming sequel) for proof that Psyop has truly arrived. (AD)" The article includes a quote from Psyop.</li> <li> The article notes: "Then there is the black-and-white imagery of the music cable channel VH1’s Music Awards campaigns. Images composed entirely of simplified, line-drawn people that look, move and act like real people in real time. The sense of reality jars with the minimal stylisation, increasing as each sting becomes evermore surreal. Both are the work of Psyop, the New York-based studio that is making TV animation as fresh as the best work coming out of London. ‘Psyop’ is a compound of Psychological Operations, borrowed from a dark governmental practice in mind and behaviour control. It’s in the design arena that you find Psyop’s true mindset. It sees itself as a design studio rather than an animation production house, so it’s no surprise to discover that a large percentage of its creatives come from graphic design backgrounds. Between them, founding partners Marie Hyon, Kylie Matulick, Eben Mears, Todd Mueller and Marco Spier previously worked at the design production studios of cable channels Nickelodeon, SCIFI Channel and the MTV Digital Design Lab. Almost as a cable channel design collective, the group came together to form a fully independent design and production team. ... Psyop’s style has transformed other campaigns including a set of simple linework animated TV ads for Volkswagen and a music video for US hip hop group Coflow, in which live video footage follows a crazed black line of 3D graffiti that continually re-draws itself over any New York subway wall or train it comes across. In each case the work refuses to compromise on creativity." The article includes quotes from people affiliated with Psyops.</li> <li> The article notes that Psyop has created an ad for Guinness.</li> <li> The article notes: "Newly formed animation/design firm Psyop has entered into a deal with production house MTV Commercials for exclusive domestic spot representation. Both companies are based in New York. Prior to formally opening, Psyop had already collaborated with MTV Commercials on projects such as Starburst's 'Revelations' via Grey Advertising, New York, and a client-direct Pepsi Fruitworks spot, 'Professional Fan League. Currently, Psyop is pitching for a second Starbursts assignment, and is working on both a VH1 campaign and a TV Land ad. (VH1 and TV Land are sister cable networks to MTV.) Psyop's roots are firmly entrenched in MTV soil. The animation/design firm was founded by three former MTV networks' colleagues: designers/directors Made Hyon and Todd Mueller; and technical director Eben Mears. Hyon was an art director at TV Land; she previously held the same job at sister networks Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite. Earlier in their careers, Mears was Nick Digital's chief animator, and Mueller was senior producer of on-air promos. Mueller had also created and produced the '96-'99 show amp, MTV's weekly mix of electronic music and experimental animation. Most recently, Mears and Mueller were at the Sci-Fi Channel (USA Networks), where they served, respectively, as visual effects supervisor/Inferno artist and art director."</li> <li> The article notes: "Shareholders in Fortissimo Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition corporation planning a reverse merger with animation and VFX player Psyop voted down the company's proposal today in New York, an outcome insiders cite as the result of prevailing economic turmoil. Back in January, it was announced Fortissimo selected Psyop as the target of its reverse merger, a course which, had it played out according to plan, would have made Psyop a publicly traded corporation along with an injection of $10 million in cash and $20 million in stock."</li> <li> The article notes: "Psyop, the New York-based VFX and animation studio responsible for spots like Coca-Cola's 'Happiness Factory' has merged with an Israeli-based acquisitions company for $10 million in cash and $20 million in stock. ... Psyop was founded in 2000 by Eben Mears, Marie Hyon, Marco Spier, Kylie Matulick and Todd Mueller, and has spawned Blacklist, a company supporting younger content producers. The firm reported an audited revenue of $15.8 million in 2006."</li> <li> The article notes: "A new spot and mobile game for the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) aims to change that. “Nightmare: Malaria” is a 90-second animated film created by animation studio Psyop that begins as a sweet bedtime story before quickly devolving into a hallucinatory trip that paints a picture of how the disease affects a body. Symptoms such as high fever, violent convulsions, vicious sickness, and attacks on the liver and brain are rendered with psychotic energy befitting a Hunter S. Thompson tale. Narrated with equal parts delicacy and force by Susan Sarandon (who agreed to participate after Psyop’s repeated pleas finally coincided with an opening in her schedule), the moral of the fable is that such suffering and fear can be avoided with a simple bed net. An 18-level mobile game, in which players avoid killer mosquitoes and collect teddy bear tokens amid fever-dream visuals, further impresses how diabolical malaria can be. ... While the project was created by Psyop, a top animation studio, “Nightmare: Malaria” is actually the first client project from the company’s training program, The Establishment for the Greater Good (EGG), and was created by eight students over one summer internship." The article contains quotes from ECG.</li> <li> The article notes: "Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial Man and Dog (WINNER) Psyop"</li> <li> The article notes: "#4 - Best Animated Television Commercial Twinings “Sea” - Psyop"</li>

There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Psyop to pass Notability, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". Cunard (talk) 11:28, 20 October 2019 (UTC)</li></ul>
 * The Hollywood Reporter verifies that Psyop has won two Annie Awards in the Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial category: once in 2012 at the 39th Annie Awards for "Twinings 'Sea'" and once in 2016 at the 43rd Annie Awards for "Coca-Cola 'Man and Dog'". Ad Age notes that "Psyop easily could be dubbed the Pixar of the spots world, given its reputation as the go-to shop for top notch animation and design." Fast Company calls Psyop "a top animation studio". Design Week says Psyop is "the New York-based studio that is making TV animation as fresh as the best work coming out of London". Esquire notes, "It's the same formula New York-based Psyop has perfected on dozens of other campaigns that have generated millions of views around the world: Come up with a crazy concept first, then worry about inventing the technology to make it happen." Cunard (talk) 11:28, 20 October 2019 (UTC)

<div class="xfd_relist" style="border-top: 1px solid #AAA; border-bottom: 1px solid #AAA; padding: 0px 25px;"> Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus. Relisted to give time for editors to consider whether sources provided by Cunard establish notability (or not).

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Barkeep49 (talk) 01:27, 22 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Comment. Dear First, you found eleven sources. In the collapsed "Sources with quotes" box, you provided long quotes from these sources. Below the box, you provided more-concise summaries of some of these long quotes. Okay. Unfortunately:
 * Guideline section WP:ORGIND warns: "Trade publications must be used with great care. While feature stories from leading trade magazines may be used where independence is clear, there is a presumption against the use of coverage in trade magazines to establish notability. This is because businesses often use these publications to increase their visibility. "
 * Ad Age, Design Week, Digital Arts, Shoot, and The Hollywood Reporter: these are all trade publications. This source states that Fast Company is also a trade publication. So, it looks like the only non-trade source you've found is the Esquire source. Unfortunately, Esquire also used Psyop to help create its augmented-reality magazine issue, so I'm not sure that we can consider Esquire to be an independent source.
 * In general: You've made numerous useful contributions to Wikipedia. However, the sources you've brought to AfD have sometimes been shot down before. (One example: During a Data Design Interactive AfD, you found six sources; but shot them down, and the article got deleted. Another example: During the Olde Boston Bulldogge AfD, you found multiple sources which  shot down; that article, too, got deleted.) Here, too, I may have successfully shot down all of your sources. Our Psyop article was created by User:Justincone's single-purpose account, back when he worked for Psyop. It's pure promotion. Why do you want the article kept? Do you believe that a puff piece written by a Psyop employee really makes Wikipedia a better encyclopedia?
 * Kind regards, —Unforgettableid (talk) 07:11, 23 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Keep on the basis of the Annie Awards. I am not convinced that we can use the nominations for these awards as proof of notability, but these were actual awards. I'm not sure a company producing one award winning production is proof of the company's notability , but having two distinct ones is certainly sufficient proof. There is no need to look for comments in other sources when we have such evidence.
 * As for sources, the Hollywood Reporter, LA Times, and Variety are the best sources for the industry. I'd certainly trust the HR over Esquire. Businesses frequently use all types of publications to increase their reliability. I know of no publication that is altogether free from it, especially for features.  Fast Company is I think sometimes but not always reliable for notability. As for news asdistinct from features, that the HR reported the prizes is fully reliable evidence. There are undoubtedly other sources for this, including the official list, but HR is sufficient. There's no need for a quote farm to deonstrate a plain fact.
 * The other material in Ad Age is substantial, and I think goes somewhat beyond puffery, and supports notability But quotes calling something a "top company" is not evidence of its notability, no matter where published--it shouldn't be taken as a formal judgment.
 * As a more general comment: Even when I disagree with his conclusions, I find Cunard's style of arguments in general to be very helpful, and the need to deal with the sources in detail a reasonable challenge.  A detailed analysis of sources is usually the best approach in discussions where determining independent and substantial  is critical to the result.  Using the information is a matter of judgment. In any honestly disputed case, I could generally find a plausible arguement for interpreting  a source to be reliable or  not reliable, or evaluating a subject  as notable or  not notable--the key word in this sentence is plausible.  For exactly the same sources, reasonable people can come to different conclusions. The only way of making the actual judgement is consensus on the interpretation. Just like me, Cunard is  sometimes, but not always correct.  To find AfDs where he was not supported by the consensus is just as easy as to do the same with me, or with anyone who frequently comments here on non-obvious instances. The only way to be always right at AfD is to only comment at the trivial.  DGG ( talk ) 19:35, 23 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Comment. Dear
 * You make lots of good points, including about Cunard's source-finding often being helpful.
 * In general, in cases like Psyop's, where a paid editor has created the Wikipedia puff piece, I start by assuming that it's best not to have Wikipedia cover the company at all. This is because the article may keep attracting more spam edits for decades, and it's very possible that there will never be enough watchers to catch and revise all of these spam edits.  So, I start out with the presumption that the company is non-notable, and then I seek proof of non-notability.
 * I do accept it as true that Psyop has won two Annie Awards in the Best Animated Commercial category.
 * Perhaps it's true that Annie Awards for Best Animated Feature can be used to help prove notability. But perhaps Annie Awards for Best Animated Commercial, which are more-minor Annies, do _not_ help prove notability.
 * A) There isn't much well-sourced content in the actual Psyop article.  The "Awards" table is completely unsourced, the "Original Productions" section is poorly-sourced, and the rest of the article is a mere stub.  Perhaps we should temporarily delete or draftify the article until someone bothers writing some better-sourced content?
 * B) WP:GNG suggests that significant coverage in independent reliable sources is proof of notability, but does not suggest that awards can be proof of notability.  Do you believe that, if you ignore the Annie Awards, and if you look only at the Ad Age and Cunard's other sources, Psyop is still notable?
 * Kind regards, —Unforgettableid (talk) 05:51, 24 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Delete as the subject fails WP:NCORP. The studio's works having received awards or nominations thereof might make the individual works (potentially!) notable, but the studio does not inherit this notability. Most of the sources found by Cunard above include just trivial mentions of the company (sometimes just one per source) in connection to a film or commercial the studio produced, while failing to actually detail the company or its operations. Sources that do focus primarily on the company are #1, #2, #4, #5, and #8, of which #8 is a news blip, and #1 and #2 only name-drop some of the company's works and then move on. The remaining two do something similar, although each has a bit of extra info (such as both mentioning the founders and #5 going over its design philosophy). This, plus WP:ORGIND, as mentioned above by Unforgettableid. All in all, this is not significant coverage and would rather result in a stub acting as a WP:DIRECTORY. Note that potential (or evident) COI interference is an argument that an article requires more maintenance, but not strictly an argument for deletion. Lordtobi  ( &#9993; ) 09:47, 24 October 2019 (UTC)

<ul><li>Comment: Thank you,, for your kind words. I strongly agree with your comment in full. According to The New York Times here, the Annie Award is "the animation industry's most prestigious prize". According to The Japan Times here, "the Annie Awards are considered one of the highest accolades in the animation production industry and often dubbed the Academy Awards for animation". An animation company like Psyop that wins the Annie Award twice in one of the 11 production categories is notable. Notability (organizations and companies) notes, "When evaluating the notability of organizations or products, please consider whether they have had any significant or demonstrable effects on culture, society, entertainment, athletics, economies, history, literature, science, or education." The Annie Awards committee believes Psyop has had a significant effect in the animation industry, having given Psyop two Annie Awards. According to this book published by Cengage, Advertising Age (now called Ad Age) is "the most widely read and authoritative trade journal in the field". I consider the significant coverage about Psyop in the journal such as this article titled "Production Company A-List 2015: Psyop" to be independent of the subject and to be sufficient to establish notability. Regarding Esquire, magazines and newspapers frequently enlist the services of companies so that they can do research and evaluation of those companies in their articles. This journalistic research does not make Esquire a non-independent source. Here are three more sources about the company:<ol> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> </ol>

<ol> <li> The book notes: "PSYOP' PSYOP disseminates imagery, ideas and advertising from its headquarters in New York. Founded in 2000 by Marie Hyon, Kylie Matulick, Eben Mears, Todd Mueller and Marco Spier, the organization focuses on collaborative design with a distinct conceptual edge. PSYOP is a term for government or military operations designed to modify the opinions, emotions, attitudes or behaviour of a target audience, thereby convincing them to cease resistance or alter their behaviour in a manner favourable to friendly forces. The company chose the name to express its belief that the media is as powerful in modern society as the military. PSYOP is a fully independent creative design/production squad dedicated to the cultivation of mind over pixel who blend the disciplines of design, animation and live-action directing."</li> <li> The book notes: "Comprising five creative partners, PSYOP is an award-winning design team whose conceptual approach to project work unites the disciplines of design, animation and live-action. Founded in 2000, PSYOP have since gone on to create visual motion graphics for the advertising marketing, video-gaming, broadcast and music video industries. Their distinct conceptual approach has culminated in projects for clients as diverse as Ford, Nike, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Volkswagen. Frozen Honey is the only wallpaper design by the New York based company. Created especially for the Maxalot Gallery, an exhibition space based in Barcelona that aims to showcase graphic design as art, and to provide a space where artist-designers can create works without the restriction of the boundaries that client prospects necessarily entail, PSYOP have produced a wallpaper that evades categorisation. Frozen Honey's muted pastel colours, soft lines and painterly aesthetic imbue it with an ethereal, soothing quality. A kaleidoscope of pattern and indefinable shapes initially locate it in an abstract and ambiguous realm, neither painting nor digital art, which eludes easy identification. Simultaneously, however, the hyper-detailed finish pulls the eye into the artwork, where seductive pattern and sexual innuendo begin to emerge. This tension between transparency and high-finish, a painterly and digital aesthetic is what gives this work by PSYOP its distinct multi-disciplinary character."</li> <li> The article notes: "In addition to animation shorts, some TV commercials, music videos and game trailers experimented with graphical styles by creatively using 3D computer techniques. For example, PSYOP, a New York base studio, has produced TV spots and music videos that are acclaimed for their concepts and aesthetics. In some of their works, 3D computer technology is applied in combination with graphical design to create unique visual styles. Todd Muller, one director in PSYOP, described the concept in the production of a music video: “we wanted to give it a two-dimensional quality, but still have a lot of three-dimensional dynamics. There was a lot of interplay between 2D and 3D” (Romanello 2005). This ‘interplay’ between 2D and 3D really facilitates the possibilities of artistic performance as displayed in their works. As for game trailer, Monster Farm 5 Circus Caravan (Fujita 2006) is one video produced by Digital Media Lab Inc. In this video, 3D computer techniques were applied to render out 2D graphical images as the approaches used in PSYOP’s TV spots. Both PSYOP and Digital Media Lab took advantage of the 2D graphical styles to play visual tricks. For example, the object in the foreground blocks a character while the camera is moving and the character appears from a different angle or poses in a different location after the blocking object moves away."</li> </ol>

I am quoting these sources in addition to the earlier sources to further demonstrate that PSYOP is widely respected in the industry and has received significant critical analysis. The authors of a Black Dog Publishing book note, "PSYOP is an award-winning design team whose conceptual approach to project work unites the disciplines of design, animation and live-action". In the Society for Animation Studies's journal Animation Studies, Yen-Jung Chang notes, "PSYOP, a New York base[d] studio, has produced TV spots and music videos that are acclaimed for their concepts and aesthetics." Cunard (talk) 07:58, 25 October 2019 (UTC)</li></ul>
 * Keep per DGG and Cunard.4meter4 (talk) 22:21, 29 October 2019 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. <b style="color:red">Please do not modify it.</b> Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.