Balancing Chaos with Brand Clarity in Visa’s Latest Spot
Online scams are a modern headache — too familiar, too fast-moving, and often slick enough to fool even the most cautious among us. Visa’s latest campaign, ‘Security Hero’, captures that digital chaos, throwing viewers into a frantic search for event tickets, where pop-ups multiply and scam sites pile up, before cutting through the noise with a moment of calm: Visa’s security guarantee.
The VFX team at Covert and director Anthony (Ant) Rubinstein set out to recreate the overwhelming nature of these scams while keeping the visuals sharp and deliberate. The challenge was making the clutter feel real — full of mismatched fonts, flashing warnings, and too-good-to-be-true deals — without losing the clarity and polish expected from a Visa ad. The final film is fast-paced and immersive, where every frantic scroll and intrusive pop-up serves a purpose, culminating in the contrast between online disorder and security.
For Covert’s senior motion designer Dan Palmer, and executive producer Ben Dubois, the tight-post production window added another layer of complexity. With the edit evolving alongside the visual effects, the team had to stay flexible, making constant refinements while ensuring the campaign’s rhythm and impact stayed intact.
LBB> Can you walk us through the creative vision for the VFX in ‘Security Hero’? How did you align your approach with Visa's brand values and the campaign's message?
Ant> The ambition was to distil the essence of scammy websites and online ticket fraudsters into a visual barrage that assaults our poor guy as he desperately searches for tickets. We wanted to strike a delicate balance that felt genuine and true to the chaotic typography and design dissonance you might find on a dodgy website. But we also wanted to ensure it looked and felt premium and glossy, like a VISA ad should.
LBB> Tell me a bit about how you worked with the director and creative team to ensure your VFX enhanced the narrative without overpowering it.
Dan> We collaborated very closely with Ant, working with a clear direction for how the VFX would evolve throughout the spot. The pacing and intensity of the spam sites were designed to build progressively, leading to the final reveal of the Visa screen — a moment of calm and security contrasting the chaos.
LBB> Can you explain how you balanced the 2D comp and 3D work to create a cohesive visual language?
Dan> Each scroll or action was designed to feel like it was a real action on a real phone. Some artistic license is then allowed for in the 3D doomscroll sections, with each 2D element tied to a tab and made to feel like the scammy sites are calling for attention.
Ant> We created a sleek layout for our website tabs that flowed in 3D space for the ‘doomscroll’ shots, and then each of those tabs provided a canvas for some nice 2D design work. This is how we managed to give the online world a sense of coherence and a bit of flourish, despite the chaotic and mismatched individual elements.
LBB> Were there any particularly complex scenes, effects, or things that pushed the limits of your VFX toolkit? How did you overcome those challenges?
Dan> Nothing too challenging to overcome; one factor was that we were building the scenes at the same time as the edit and the creation of assets. To keep things flexible, we ensured the comps were adaptable and could accommodate changes across multiple assets as they evolved. Using the Essential Graphics panel in After Effects allowed us to streamline updates and maintain consistency.
Ant> The moment where the ‘auctioneer’ character leans out of the phone was a lovely blend of live-action photography and clever VFX, I’d say! Nothing ground-breaking, but well planned and well executed by all parties
LBB> Did this project allow you to explore new techniques or tools in either 2D or 3D workflows? If so, what were the key takeaways?
Dan> For the doomscroll sections, we developed a workflow that allowed us to cascade tabs with randomly assigned 2D textures, while still retaining control over individual tabs to highlight and draw attention to. These setups were passed to compositing with scene configurations and cryptomattes, giving us the flexibility to tweak 2D elements from there.
Ant> It was nice to be able to play around with the familiar ‘phone POV’ angle and do something a bit more playful with it. You see selfie camera shots all the time, but I’m pleased with how we managed to playfully do UI interactions that feel quite innovative and fresh.
LBB> As you also handled executive production, how did you manage the balance between the creative and logistical demands of the project?
Ben> We never want to cloud the creative with the logistics, so it's always a tricky balance to allow things to be explored to their fullest potential. On this spot, the window for post-production was tight, and the edit was being tweaked right up until the last moment.
With Ant's extensive knowledge of post-production, it meant the team were able to riff with him and really push things in a timeframe that was a bit bonkers. A great example of a director who can extract the most out of the post-process by not just getting close to the artists on the box, but also understanding the tools they work with and all the fun that can be had with them.
LBB> And finally, what about this project worked best?
Dan> Something we prioritised was the seamless transitions and flow between scenes. Beginning with a zoom through the camera into the phone, establishing the POV perspective. From there, every transition or cut was designed to push tabs forward or moving through the sea of questionable sites, maintaining a sense of motion and narrative progression.
Ant> From my side, it was quite a restrictive brief in terms of very limited movement from the main guy and being stuck in the phone the whole time – so a challenge to tell an engaging story within the tight constraints. However, the finished spot flows nicely and there are plenty of fun moments in there, testament to the hard work and attention to detail of the Covert team!
