As America tuned in to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in August, United Airlines debuted five commercials that aim to show how relaxing and rewarding international travel is when flying in United's new first- and business-class cabins. Created by artists from around the world, including South Africa and India, each of the six spots ("Sea Orchestra," "Heart," "Two Worlds," "Moondust" and "Butterfly") paints a picture of optimism and exploration using unique artistic forms such as shed bird feathers, colored sand and plastic modeling clay on glass.

	United "Sea Orchestra" Click for QuickTime

The :60 "Sea Orchestra" is a lively and visually rich commercial. In it, a United airplane crosses the ocean and is serenaded by an orchestra of animated sea creatures that are playing a unique version of "Rhapsody in Blue" using tubas, violins, French horns and the Indonesian gamelan.

Directing collective Shy the Sun and Los Angeles-based Duck assembled the fairy-tale, otherworldly spot for United Airlines via agency Barrie D'Rozario Murphy. Shy the Sun, a South Africa-based directing team, used hand-drawn textures, computer animation characters and photographs of water, reefs and skies to make its impact.

Duck partner and executive producer Mark Medernach notes, "[Directors] Ree and Jannes wow me with everything they do. The creatures they created for this piece are simply fantastic, and the effort is a perfect example of the bandwidth we have set up here at Duck. We implemented a unique streamlined workflow system that allowed incredible talents such as Shy the Sun to produce this type of work for an American agency from half a world away."

This charming spot begins with a swan bellowing from his nest floating in the middle of the ocean. The swan transitions to a fish, who flops into the water and leads us to our sea orchestra. The cast of mammals, fish and crustacean characters, led by an exuberant conducting lobster, begins the overture of United's anthem. As the shot pulls away from the orchestra, the shadow of an airplane is seen crossing over the ocean. The voiceover announcer (Robert Redford) states, "Crossing the ocean will never be the same." The perspective switches to a content woman relaxing on the plane, mesmerized at the sights below.