This Grocery Store Used Animation to Celebrate the Transcendent, Connective Power of Food

While food can be a love language at any point of the year, there’s a lot to be said for the power a meal can possess during the holiday season. Whether it’s a fully-cooked feast that’s taken hours to prepare, or a quick takeout meal that wafts appealing aromas around the room, it serves as a convenient occasion to come together, drink in the holiday spirit, and form fond memories with friends and loved ones.

This is something that Sid Lee and TONIC DNA masterfully capture in their latest efforts for IGA’s annual Christmas campaign. Continuing a three-year tradition between the parties, this year’s offering, ‘Paulo’s Wish’, emphasises the way in which a good meal has the power to transcend long-term family conflicts.

Telling the story of two sisters, Gabrielle and Audrey, who at one point loved cooking together – especially during the holidays – until a broken dish tore them apart, the spot is narrated by the titular Paulo, who explains that the two eventually started sneakily delivering dishes of food to each other’s opposing porches. Showcasing a wide array of realistic, delicious-looking food, it’s beautiful, heartfelt work that comes with a fun twist, which you can see for yourself below.

According to the team at Sid Lee, this year’s creative was very much an intentional departure from that of previous years. Sure, they wanted to keep the brand’s signature look and feel consistent with work of the past, but the appointment of lead creative on the IGA account, Quentin Fachon, as co-director (his first ever time for an animated film) proved an exciting opportunity to do something new.

“We played quite a lot with the grammar of the cameras this year, adding splitscreens, crash zooms, strong angles, and intentional movements,” he says. “We also animated the characters so that they would be more dynamic, while still respecting the brand’s tonality.”

This is readily apparent throughout the spot. From Paulo sliding around the side of the house to get inside, to the emotional reconciliation and hug, each sequence is cinematic, lifelike, and, just as Quentin hoped, dynamic.

Naturally however, that isn’t all there is to making a brilliant piece of Christmas animation. A lot of meticulous work had to go into the sisters’ designs to enable these overarching goals, while more importantly, provide distinct characterisation for what otherwise would have been an indistinguishable pair of identical twins.

“In the preproduction phase, we established WHO the sisters are, their personalities, and their history,” explains TONIC DNA art director Marta Grasso. “You can see then that Audrey is more eccentric – she’s an artist, she’s always in green, and the patterns are her trademark. Gabrielle is more of a traditionalist, always perfect with her nails done, always in red.”

Another key differentiator, it turns out, are the character’s smiles. Despite the fact that Gabrielle and Audrey share a face and are intended to reflect the familial similarities expected of two siblings raised together, there are subtle differences which are informed by their respective backstories. 

To this end, when paired with other small points of contrast such as jewellery choices and kitchen backsplashes, it all serves to expand the lore of the sisters, even without necessarily telling that entire story on screen. A classic case of ‘show, don’t tell’.

“Before starting animation, I like to talk with the director and come up with detailed backstories for the characters,” notes TONIC DNA animation supervisor Wiley Townsend. “Although these backstories are not explicitly shown, they inform the performances, leading to more authentic character animation in the end.”

Of course, all of this is enhanced beautifully via the grading, lighting and colour choices made by the TONIC team. While as Marta highlighted earlier, the decision to colour-code the sisters aided in providing stark contrast, she adds that this was the first time the studio really focused on using all these elements to guide viewers through a story.

“Colour helps us to better understand the story and to contrast the beginning and end shots where we needed to feel the warmth, love, and connection,” she continues. “When the sisters fight, we're in a gray and desaturated world where everything is super cold. But, when Gabrielle discovers the first dish on her porch, we start to add a bit of saturation to the scene. That’s the hope, a first step to reconciliation.”

Viewers will also notice that this aim is furthered by the inclusion of dramatic and theatrical lighting – indicating that the battle between the sisters exchanging food has started, and emphasising the humorous nature of the section. Paired with the gradual transition and implementation of more colours, it all serves as buildup to the climax of the film: the two sisters being reunited.

“We decided to highlight this magical and almost surrealistic moment with the use of the purple lights from the environment and super vibrant colors,” Marta says. “Using this language also helped us to detach the flashback portion, when we discover that it was Paulo who cooked the first plate.”

So, with all that said and done, what are the key lessons to take away from this spot? Perhaps for a start, that it’s never a bad time to start something new. Truly, the proof is in the pudding for this year’s work – the decision to implement all-new colour applications and camera approaches created an exceptional piece of work which finds a way to stand out in an over-saturated advertising season.

There’s also the fact that the holidays aren’t necessarily purely about spending loads of money to give expensive gifts. Sure, food isn’t free, but the real investment that comes with an unexpected dish delivered to your porch is the time, effort and love that went into making it. Maybe that’s something all Canadians ought to remember a little bit more in a time when consumerism is at its peak.

However, whatever the lesson may be, both the teams at TONIC DNA and Sid Lee are proud of the creative. And to this end, Quentin concludes that for him, the magic of this project – and perhaps the ultimate takeaway – is in the power of good collaboration, especially with tried and true partners.

“It was an honour and a privilege to work with TONIC on this project,” he finishes. “As a director, collaborating with such a talented team on such a premium project is the best advertising can offer.”