Fake Turkey, Unexpected Casting, and Snow in September: How Directors Capture the Magic of Christmas

A strong sense of character, visual spectacle, and an emotional connection are some of the essential ingredients to making a festive ad that feels magic, according to directors from around the world responsible for capturing the Christmas spirit every year. 

"Holiday campaigns are all about finding ways to unlock the magic,” New York based Nema Vand from Eva Nosidam told LBB. “For me, it's all about the characters. Christmas is full of really dynamic characters. Because at the end of the day, people are looking for stories that drive home a heartfelt sense of togetherness.” 

London's Paloma Baeza at Nexus Studio described herself as an expert on Christmas. “Capturing the Christmas spirit for the Very campaign meant immersing ourselves in a magical, glittery world - a brand new universe, inhabited by talking flamingos and pigeons," she said. 

"To put us in the right mood, the Liverpool-based streets and houses had plenty of coloured lights and decorations, along with snow on the rooftops. This combined with soft pink light, creates a sense of timeless magic. Accessorising the pigeons and flamingoes for these winter scenes meant designing the characters so they looked cosy in their bobble hats and scarves. Turns out that a crowd of pigeons in knitwear on the high street gives you the right comedy beat to pull you into a new Christmassy world! The icing on the cake in all these ads has been how we use glitter as part of the parcel opening - for a festive touch this was a gift, showing joyful transformations that are shared with family and community."

“Capturing the Christmas spirit for the ‘Very’ campaign meant immersing ourselves in a magical, glittery world - a brand new universe, inhabited by talking flamingos and pigeons. We needed to bring warmth and seasonal cheer while re-imagining this through a filter of pink hues, designing new characters and environments,” she said. 

Max Fisher, from London's Rogue Films, relied on the use of character to create a cosy Christmas atmosphere in his campaign for Carib Christmas set in the Caribbean. Despite the heat, he was able to achieve the ‘traditional’ Christmas feel through personal and universal feelings. 

 

“In the case of Carib Christmas – the loneliness of both characters is really important. We need to experience how much they miss each other in order to get the power of the emotional pay off. We have to feel the little moments of humanity and frustration as these will touch anyone who has ever missed anyone,” he said. 

Similarly, Aussie directors always face the challenge of a summery Christmas. While Christmas traditions often include snow, gingerbread, and hot chocolate by the fire, the festive season feels and looks different in the Southern Hemisphere.

Mint Films director Hannah Lehmann said Christmas reminds her of being at home and getting excited for the summer. When working on a Christmas campaign, she chases that feeling. 

MINT Film’s Andrew Seaton added, “Christmas has a lot to it that’s warm and heartfelt, but there’s also the joy and hilarity that always ensues. The hokey traditions, the tacky ornaments, that quirky uncle that always ho-ho-hoes a little too far into the mulled wine. I love drawing out these comedic insights on screen, like in my spot for Stockland, to not just tug on the heartstrings but tickle them too.”

Kyra Bartley at FINCH created a dream-like Christmas campaign for Westfield this year that followed three different family traditions. "When you find the right people, it becomes about creating the world around them that they just get to inhabit," she said. 

One of the spots features a woman who attended the ad audition with her daughter. 

"She'd never acted before, but she stepped in as a scene partner for her daughter and had this natural warmth and authenticity, rather than the usual glossiness of TV mums. The stories kept getting sillier. It really bonded them.”

Hamish Rothwell and Tracy-Lee Permall from Good Oil brought a uniquely Australian charm to the festive season in their work for ALDI this year. Together, the pair showcased a hilariously Aussie Christmas with a CGI albatross and a boat-sized gravy boat. 

“This was one of those unique campaigns where everything that could have gone wrong… didn’t,” they said.

“ALDI has always embraced joyful irreverence, and this was no exception. To us, it evokes the wonderful daftness of a massive Christmas lunch at the height of summer. The turkey was fake, but the fun we had wasn’t.” 

For Rick Cantor of Golden LA and Epoch, his job was to create a winter wonderland in the middle of a very hot LA September.

“I love shooting ads for the holidays because the whole thing is full of emotion and nostalgia, even if you’re doing comedy. Juxtapose that with the surrealness of dusting LA county roads with fake snow, and you’ll find me exactly where I want to be every September,” he said. 

The BMW campaign he worked on captured arguments about when it’s the right time to play Christmas music. He has that same fight every year with his family. 

“I love the buildup to the holidays. The shops, the decorations, the tree… but the music drives me insane. But I get very nostalgic around this time of year, and I’d love to be taking a road trip with my dad in those mountains right about now,” he said. 

Radical Media and LA based Dave Meyers believes Christmas is “one of the most fun playgrounds” as it allows for reinvention and new ideas. Based in the UK, he has seen his fair share of John Lewis campaigns that tug on the heart strings, however, his work with Boots took a different direction. It starred Mrs Claus discovering how to work her own miracles.

“I thought it was a brilliant installment in the mythology. Her grace in the face of their monumental task is both empowering and at the same time a celebration of partnerships that carries the Christmas spirit in yet another new direction,” he said. 

While Christmas is a time for cheer, it can also be one of the hardest times of the year. UK based Dom+Nic, directors from Outsider TV, were tasked with creating a spot for UK charity Shelter this year. 

It opens on a father and daughter playing make believe. The daughter asks questions like “Will it be warm there?” only for the illusion to dissolve and showcase their reality

“Finding the story and emotion that stands out from all the snow and tinsel is a real challenge,” they said. 

“It was a great script that combined visual spectacle, an emotional story and a hard truth about child homelessness; so arguably a commercial that is trying to get people into the Christmas spirit in its truest sense.

“We’ve done our fair share of big Christmas films over the last few years and have loved them all without exception, but the most successful ones have had the perfect combo of visual spectacle and emotional tug. So, whether we have been trying to encourage people to indulge in delicious food, booze and chocolate or give some of their hard-earned cash to those less fortunate than themselves, we always try to make our film as worthy as it can.”