The Making of ASDA’s Gnome-Packed Holiday Spot

Creating Christmas magic is no easy task, especially when cheeky animated gnomes take centre stage. Gnomes for Christmas, ASDA's infectiously joyful 2024 campaign, combines live-action and animation in a heartfelt celebration of holiday pizazz. RASCAL is the VFX studio at the centre of the project, responsible for bringing the gnomes to life through flawless animation, technical accuracy, and imaginative vision.

Animating hundreds of individuals with their own distinct characteristics and personalities, then integrating them into real-world settings was far from simple. In this interview, Colin Oaten, executive producer of RASCAL, explains how a light-hearted script was turned into a holiday spectacle through close co-ordination with director Bryan Buckley, production company Hungryman, and agency Havas London. We find out how the team's efforts, from early pre-visualisation to intricate post-production, made sure the gnomes were lively, realistic, and most importantly, gleefully chaotic. 

LBB> How closely did RASCAL work with Havas London and the director to ensure the gnomes aligned with the overall vision for the campaign?

Colin> Being involved from the outset, at script stage, is crucial for a project of this scale and calibre. The planning and collaboration with Bryan Buckley, Hungryman, and Havas were absolutely instrumental in the success of the campaign. Once we were underway, from pre-vis stage and throughout animation, we were providing regular updates to Bryan and Havas.

LBB> Can you walk us through the design process for the gnomes? Were there particular inspirations or iterations that shaped their final look?

Colin> All of the gnomes were designed by the excellent team at Legacy FX in LA, in collaboration with Bryan, Havas and ASDA.  It was up to us at RASCAL to bring them to life and add their personalities once the characters were approved.

LBB> What were the biggest creative or technical challenges in bringing the animated gnomes to life, especially in blending them with the live-action environment?

Colin> After we had received the initial models from Legacy, our first challenge was to test how the gnomes should move. We had a character brief for each of the heroes, but they all needed to display individual characteristics and have an ‘attitude’.

Our on-set VFX supervisors ensured we captured measurements and lighting data crucial to ensuring we can deliver a totally believable end result.

The big technical challenges were mainly from a numerical standpoint — there’s a HUGE number of gnomes in some shots — and plenty of shots!

LBB> How did you ensure the gnomes interacted convincingly with real-world elements, like ASDA products or the store setting?

Colin> On set we had ‘stand-in’ gnomes so that Bryan and the DOP (the Oscar-winning Hoyte van Hoytema) could frame accurately and get eyeline with the live-action store staff. We also needed to capture some in-camera interaction with objects such as the tree, mannequin and carving knife. It’s then our compositors attention to detail that brings the elements together.

LBB> The ad emphasises Christmas cheer. How did the visual effects contribute to amplifying the festive tone?

Colin> We added plenty of snow of course, as the film was shot in July, and the set of the store interior needed extending with LOTS of additional Christmas bling!  We needed to add lights to the tree and bring the ‘big light turn-on’ to a blinding crescendo (spot the sunglasses on some of the gnomes…)

LBB> Were there any specific details or Easter eggs in the animation work that viewers might not notice at first glance but are meaningful to the team?

Colin> That would be telling! We had quite a few requests for little added extras that are hidden among the background gnomes. Watch on repeat and you might spot a few!

LBB> Which tools and software were key in creating the animations and integrating them seamlessly into the live-action shots?

Colin> We used Maya for all the animation and set extensions, Houdini for CG snow effects, plus Flame and Nuke for all shot compositing. We also used Unreal for the pre-vis, enabling us to create multiple iterations and react quickly to feedback.

LBB> Holiday campaigns are often on strict timelines. How did RASCAL manage the tight production schedule for this project?

Colin> You have to plan well from the outset. Working closely with Hungryman and Havas, we agreed on specific deadlines for each stage of the project. Once you know the key dates, you work around these and ensure you have the right team at the right time. The team flexed in size throughout the timeline, and it swelled to a team of 20-plus people at its busiest point. Managing this around other campaigns was a challenge that our production and scheduling teams handled flawlessly!

LBB>  How has the team reacted to the ad's reception so far? Did you anticipate the level of engagement it has received?

Colin> We are really pleased with the response. There are many Christmas spots that come out all at the same time, so to receive so much positivity has been a real bonus.

LBB> Is there a particular sequence or element of the gnome animations that you’re especially proud of, and why?

Colin> The gnome invasion as they burst into the store had many animation iterations and featured 100-plus gnomes. It was pretty much crashing the scene each time it was opened for the next change! To get that looking so epic with so much hand animation was really pleasing.

​​LBB> Anything else you’d like to add?

Colin> It was a really enjoyable film to work on. Christmas is the UK’s advertising equivalent of Superbowl, so to work on a huge Xmas spot that was so well-received is always rewarding!

LBB> Can you tell us a bit about what it was like to work with RASCAL?

Emily Camacho, senior creative at Havas London> Working with the team at RASCAL was nothing short of “PHE-GNOME-ENAL”! 

We couldn’t have wished for a better team for this project. The level of detail “GNOMISSIMO!”; the level of character craft “ABSOLUTELY LUSH!”. 

They breathed life into our gnomes and elevated their characteristics in a way we didn’t know possible.

Everyone at RASCAL was a pleasure to work with, an honour to learn from and collaborate with, and to top it off, we had quite a lot of laughs along the way! Can’t wait to see what’s next!