Aardman Buys Majority of Nathan Love to Create US-Based Aardman Nathan Love

Aardman Animations, the venerable Bristol, UK-based animation studio, announced today that it has acquired a majority share in New York City animation commercial production studio Nathan Love.

The new company, which will be rebranded Aardman Nathan Love, will focus primarily on advertising work. It is Aardman’s first permanent production facility outside of the UK.

“Teaming up with an existing company gives us the opportunity to hit the ground running and a solid base from which to grow,” said David Sproxton, co-founder and executive chairman of Aardman. “This venture is not about sending work back to the UK. It’s about building a new business in New York for American agencies and we feel we can do this more effectively by being there.”

Here is the full launch video, of which snippets have been teased online for the past few weeks:

Nathan Love was founded by Joe Burrascano in 2007 and produces predominantly CG work for major corporations including Kellogg’s, Kraft, Baskin Robbins, Pepsi, NBC Universal, and Nickelodeon.

While Nathan Love will remain focused on advertising, Aardman executive producer of partner content Heather Wright hinted in today’s announcement that the studio may be used for other types of projects as well: “As the worlds of advertising and content become increasingly intertwined, this partnership will give us the opportunity to develop longer format and interactive projects in the US.”