The 60-second spot by Saatchi & Saatchi London mixes CGI animation with real settings to build the "Imaginarium", the fantastical headquarters where Asda’s Christmas treats are created. Set to Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop, it will debut simultaneously on ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 on 5 November.
The girl and her grandfather journey through the Imaginarium and find enchanted machines and experiments such as reindeers powering a giant food mixer to make Christmas puddings, canapés and mince pies being assembled by tiny Asda workers, and a large cookbook snapping open to reveal two chefs preparing the Christmas meal of roast turkey with trimmings.
An additional four 30-second films will roll out with a focus on festive shopping moments such as gifting, home decorations and parties. In a first for the retailer, Asda will create tailored videos with Google’s Trueview platform using audience search terms and linking them to relevant brand messaging.
The campaign will also include a gamified Snapchat filter where people can become the striped weightlifter characters who test Christmas cakes in the Imaginarium.
Andy Murray, the chief marketing officer at Asda, said the brand drew inspiration for the ad from feedback it received from customers on its Christmas range.
"As we talked to them about Christmas we could see how much joy and happiness planning their Christmas brought them – we knew we wanted to reflect that in our ad," he said. "When we saw their reactions to our food – the way it surprised them and made them smile – as well as the incredible pride and attention to detail our product developers had put into creating it, the inspiration for the Imaginarium was born."
The work was written by Ryan Price, art directed by Cece Chu and directed by Los Perez through Blink Productions. Blue 449 handled media planning and buying, and MPC worked on special effects.
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