Aussie reindeer Dunder guides Santa to Stockland in a time of crisis in Christmas campaign
An Australian reindeer named Dunder – short for ‘Down Under’ – guides Santa through some trouble on Christmas Eve in Stockland’s 2019 holiday campaign.
As Santa travels to Australia, a notorious bin chicken collides with the sleigh, sending the array of gifts into the abyss. To save the day Dunder guides Santa to a Stockland centre to restock on presents.
Matt Ennis, creative director at Host Havas, explained the idea from the ad came from the original Edmund Clarence Stedman poem ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’.
“‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ was created by Edmund Clarence Stedman almost 200 years ago. In the earliest known printing of the poem, the name given to Santa’s seventh reindeer was ‘Dunder’. Over the years, thanks to movies, songs and pop culture, Dunder was replaced with Donner, or even Donder,” Ennis said.
“Christmas is a time for thinking about someone you haven’t in a while, so we thought it fitting to give this forgotten reindeer the spotlight.”
Ben Allen, GM of customer and group marketing at Stockland, said: “We wanted to celebrate the unique Australian Christmas spirit that makes us all so proud to live in this country. That’s the spirit that Dunder embodies.
“We know that Christmas is a special time of year for our customers and we are proud to be a small part of their celebrations whether it’s buying the prawns or turkey, searching for the perfect gift or taking the time to capture a traditional photo with Santa. We hope our centres can be a place that epitomises the Christmas spirit and that Dunder brings joy to our customers as they prepare for their Christmas celebrations.”
The campaign also consists of a series of activations including visits from Santa, a Paws and Claus photo session for pets, the super sale weekend in November and a competition to win a Stockland gift card.
Dunder will also feature on Stockland’s gift wrap.
Stockland will also be donating $50,000 to charity partners including $35,000 to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, and $5,000 to each of its CARE Foundation partners Redkite, R U OK? and Reach Out.
Allen stated the company was committed to creating a good customer experience.
“We have more than 375,000 customers visiting Stockland centres daily and are committed to creating an experience as convenient and curated as possible for each one of them, particularly during busy times like Christmas,” Allen said.
“We hope others may also be inspired this Christmas and make an effort to support and include those who need it this season.”
The campaign will be executed across owned channels, cinema, social, digital, print, radio and in-centre display advertising.
Credits
Creative agency: Host/Havas
Executive Creative Director: Jon Austin
Creative Director: Matt Ennis
Senior Copywriter: Anthony Campagna
Senior Art Director: Jari Kennedy
Copywriter: Joe Ranallo
Art Director: Fernanda Gil-Pier and Manuel Rey
Design: Meng Zhang
Head of Account Management: Jo Thomasson
Account Director: Max Bennett
Senior Broadcast Producer: Stephanie Cameron
Chief Strategy Officer: Olly Taylor
Senior Planner: Alyce Cowan
Production: Mighty Nice
Director: Darren Price
2D Animation Director: Bonnie Forsyth
Art Director: Softly Dunstan
Head of Studio: Jeremy Howdin
Head of Production: Tina Braham
Producer: Samantha Daley
Junior Producer: Diana Angelius
Storyboards: Bonnie Forsyth
Character Designer: Marie Thorhauge, Jason Pamment
Environment Designers: Yori Narpati, Alexandre Belbari
Animators 2D: Bonnie Forsyth, Michael Chen, Jarrod Prince, Ella Rousseau, Audrey Villafana, Alea Trinajstic
Animation Lead 3D: Duncan MacLaren
Animator: Michael Chen
Modelling & Surfacing: Greg Petch, Will Brand, Tristan Lock, Trent Rogan, Andrew Kimberley, Billy Harrison, Akhil Mittal , Karen Etherington,
Rigging: Jason Dobra, Tessa Eden
Lighting: Trent Rogan, Mat McCosker, Billy Harrison
Composite: Chris Angelius, Tobias Frei, Fiona Lu, Mathieu Carlot
Print: Jamie Phillips, Leanne Lee
Music Production: Song Zu
Music: Haydn Walker
Sound Design: Abigail Sie
Media agency: Ikon Communication
Production agency: Wellcom Worldwide
