Dutch supermarket retailer Albert Heijn believes that when we’re together, Christmas becomes magical.
This year, we see the festivities through the eyes of little Robin. As the youngest in the family, she imagines all her family members transforming into the fairy tale characters from her storybooks: Grandma turns into Santa Claus, her dog into a reindeer, her Mum Ilse into a gingerbread cookie, her Dad Bart into an elf, and her brother Tommy into a giant – all bringing her a lot of joy and giggles.
We contributed a big part to the magic by working on the music and sound: “We started by licensing ‘Magic Moments’ by Perry Como and ended up scoring the events leading up to the song. The score was composed in a fitting cinematic Christmas fashion, making sure the orchestra connected seamlessly with the track. All finishing touches were created by our sound design team, adding just the perfect amount of magic to bring the protagonist’s imagination to life,” says Diederik van Middelkoop, Executive Creative Director at Amp.Amsterdam.
Our partner Ambassadors brought these fictional characters to life using CG and 3D animation to create the reindeer, the cookie, and the elf while forced perspective helped turn Tommy into a giant version of himself. The animation team also implemented endearing details throughout.
As Nick Groeneveld, Head of Animation says: “You can see how the dog becomes a reindeer, so we gave the reindeer a collar and a dog’s mind on how he would react to certain things. Bart becomes a tiny version of himself so we created a full model and rig that could imitate his behavior. Another example is Ilse; she becomes a gingerbread cookie with a ponytail and pattern design that mimics her clothing. Through these design details, we ensured that the characters stay true to themselves.”
This magical TV commercial can be seen on all Dutch channels throughout the Christmas season.
Commercial
Big thanks to:
Albert Heijn
TBWA\NEBOKO
Holy Fools
Ambassadors