Irn-Bru enlists Snowman in animated Christmas push

LONDON - Irn-Bru is launching its first seasonal ad campaign outside of Scotland, with a TV campaign featuring the lyrics to 'Walking in the Air' from the animated short film 'The Snowman' changed to include the soft drink brand name.

The campaign, which breaks nationwide on December 10, also features The Snowman and a boy drawn in the same animated style as the famous film. It marks Irn-Bru's first seasonal ad campaign outside of Scotland.

The ad previously ran in Scotland only last year and was a big hit on YouTube.

The Scottish fizzy drink brand worked with the original composer, Howard Blake, and Snowman Enterprises, to complete the 60-second spot. It was produced by advertising agency, the Leith Agency.

The lyrics in the ad now read: "We're walking in the air. I'm sipping on an Irn Bru. My chilly snowman mate says he would like some too. I tell him get your own. He looks like he is going to cry. I tell him once again the Irn-Bru is mine. Now I'm falling through the air. I wonder where I'm going to land. He nicked my Irn-bru and let go of my hand."

In the TV spot, the Snowman is shown taking to the skies with a small boy, before realising that his companion will not share his Irn-Bru with him.

As they soar above a snowy landscape of fields and town, the Snowman tries and tries again, before eventually stealing the Irn-Bru and dropping his friend from a great height.

Joady Horsley, brand group manager at Irn-Bru, said: "It felt like the right time to create something especially for Christmas but we spent months trying to come up with the right idea.

"The one thing that we really wanted to do with our ad was to celebrate Christmas in an Irn-Bru way."

The ad was also produced by Leith Agency in conjunction with Sherbet Animation, who spent weeks drawing and directing the film before piecing it together. The original story was written by Raymond Briggs and sung by Aled Jones.

Irn-Bru also drafted in one of Scotland's top choirboys from prestigious music school, St Mary's, to sing a new interpretation of Howard Blake's 'Walking in the Air'.

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