How Rudolph Became a Red-Nosed Rodeo Champ
This Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer went a little rogue. Finding himself soaking in the sun and sand of Texas, the next thing you know, he’s involved in a rodeo! Prioritising cheer and joy this holiday season, the Erste Banking Group were keen to put a new twist on a classic Christmas character.
Building suspense for viewers, a rodeo soundtrack, neighing horses and a giant cloud of smoke build up to the classic ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ song, showing an unusual participant in this year’s rodeo festivities. As the gallery watches from the stands, it turns out that Rudolph is an absolute natural, bucking a cowboy right off his back, while rocking antlers and his signature Christmas harness. As the words ‘#believeinyourself’ come up on screen, we see that a dream has been realised.
To talk about the VFX and CG process of bringing Rudolph to life, Erste Group’s head of brand management and communications Nina Pentek, and the company’s head of group brands services Daniel Ratzenböck, as well as Studio Sonntag’s founder and creative director Michael Nagy, all speak to LBB’s Nisna Mahtani.
LBB> Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer takes on an unusual twist in Erste’s Christmas campaign. How did this Western-style spot first come about?
Nina> Erste Group first leapt into the Christmas advert arena – the ‘European Super Bowl of advertising’ – in 2018 with the endearing animated tale of a lonely hedgehog named Henry. This massively successful advert sparked an Erste Group tradition of heartstring-tugging animation ads over the past years. But this year, we didn’t want to do something predictable. Instead, we set out to craft something different and pleasantly surprising… something marked by a lightness and a certain wink. From the very first briefing, we aimed to achieve something that stands out in a sea of holiday commercials.
LBB> The campaign feels different from most other Christmas spots, was that the goal? What kind of feeling did you want to evoke with the campaign?
Mike> Yes, in addition to conveying our brand narrative #believeinyourself, differentiation was the primary goal. In a world marked by post-Covid challenges, soaring energy prices, and a continuing war in Europe, we felt the need for a tonal shift. A break from tear-inducing ‘sadvertising’. We opted for a lighthearted approach, one that aims to bring smiles to people’s faces while still feeling relatable. After all, Rudolph's journey is the story of an underdog who’s attempting to fulfil his dreams... in this case, in the somewhat peculiar setting of a rodeo. It’s a touch of bonkers, but undeniably relatable and human.
LBB> When did you realise that everyone’s favourite reindeer was going to be the protagonist of the campaign? From there, what was the process of bringing him to life?
Daniel> From the outset, we knew we had to retain the Christmas essence while embracing the oddity. Rudolph emerged as the obvious choice as he’s such a quintessential Christmas character. The production steps were somewhat more complex compared to our previous Christmas campaigns, as the advert is a combination of classic filming and animation. The most important steps in its realisation were certainly finding great and committed partners for the advert’s production, animation, and music.
LBB> What was the VFX and CG animation process like and what was the trickiest part of bringing everything together?
Mike> Once Rudolph clinched his role as the next Christmas hero, the challenge lay in seamlessly integrating our photorealistic CG reindeer into the live-action shots. The process involved a meticulous build with bone/muscle rig, full hair groom, and FX – which, through the hard work of the lovely people at The Mill, turned out great in our opinion. The trickiest part was probably the discussion of how red Rudolph’s nose should be. Eventually, we opted for a more realistic approach.
LBB> During that animation process, where did you find inspiration for all the little details? What time period and location were you trying to convey?
Mike> Given Rudolph's CG incarnation, a deep dive into rodeo footage – which definitely messed up our YouTube algorithms a good bit – and classic Western films shaped our creative vision. Think Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood vibes, aiming for that Texan feel with a contemporary twist. In terms of the location, we wanted to convey an authentic place and setting for the story. That’s also why Christmas accents were deliberately used in a subtle way.
LBB> How long did it take, from start to finish, to complete the ad?
Daniel> We had our first briefing meeting with our agency Jung von Matt in mid June and decided on ‘Rudolph’ about a month later. We started with scripts sometime in the summer when it was 35 degrees outside – maybe that’s one of the reasons why we ended up swapping snow for sand. The shooting took place in September, and we started with the animation right after that. The timing was tight; we didn't have any room for delays.
LBB> The ‘ho, ho, howdy’ take is one that surprised us! Can you talk a little bit about the strategy that went behind it?
Daniel> The main goal was to stand out from the ever-increasing clutter of traditional Christmas adverts in our region. And we wanted to surprise the audience with something you usually do not expect from such advertising. Setting the stage for a Christmas advert while at the same time hinting at its uniqueness – striking that balance was crucial for us.
LBB> How did the messaging for this campaign align with the Erste brand and what it wanted to convey?
Nina> #Believeinyourself has been the brand narrative of our group since 2017. With the advert’s message "You are what you want to be. #Believeinyourself", we are fully aligned with our brand strategy.
LBB> The music and sound is a huge aspect of the spot. Can you talk us through the process of creating it?
Mike> Supreme Music worked wonders with our brief: use Rudolph the Reindeer, but make it country. From honky-tonk to Johnny Cash to Tarantino, we tried a few different routes. The key was keeping it fun and light-hearted.
LBB> Racking up millions of views on YouTube, what has the reaction to the spot been like?
Nina> We were delighted with the advert’s great performance. The reactions have been predominantly positive. As Christmas means something different to everyone in the world, tastes differ too and there have also been some critical voices, namely those of people who miss the traditional Christmas element. Given the more cutting-edge approach we’ve taken, such reactions are perfectly understandable, and we respect them too.
LBB> How is the Erste brand going to follow on from this campaign? What can we expect to see next?
Nina> You can always expect the unexpected from Erste. We are committed to nurturing and elevating the Erste brand, pushing boundaries to enhance its visibility and resonance. We aim to further strengthen our brand’s position in all our markets, ensuring sustained growth and positive engagement with our audience.
LBB> Are there any unexpected moments or funny behind the scenes stories you can share with us?
Daniel> Christmas is always something special, even in advertising! It was wonderful to feel the great motivation of the entire team behind this campaign. In a cheeky twist, we persuaded Dorian & Daniel, the ad's directors, to cameo in the spot. One of them graciously agreed, but I'll keep you guessing on which character he decided to play!
