Already renowned for its animation expertise, in 2021 Nexus proved it could handle complex projects blending the worlds of entertainment, branded content and immersive technology at a time when the pandemic demanded some magical thinking.

See all of Ad Age's A-List 2022 winners here.

These included Cox Communications’ “Drawn Closer,” in which Patrick Osborne reimagined a middle school play—a feat impossible due to the COVID-19 lockdown—as an animated film, using innovative tech to capture kids’ performances.

Johnny Kelly once again used stop motion to highlight big issues in Chipotle's “A Future Begins,” a sequel to its farming family saga a decade on from “Back to the Start.” Conor Finnegan used adorable puppetry to bring to life the heartwarming stop-motion tale of Tiptoe, a young blue reindeer who’s afraid to fly, in Macy’s holiday campaign.

See all of Ad Age's A-List 2022 winners here.

And Nexus’ Factory Fifteen created a spectacular trailer encapsulating Japanese culture for the BBC’s Tokyo 2020 Olympics coverage, mixing live action, animation and original artworks by Japanese artist Fantasista Utamaro.