Lidl’s 2021 Christmas campaign, ‘Always’, is a collaboration between Karmarama, Gary Freedman and Absolute

There’s something wonderfully predictable about Christmas day. The same folk rock up year after year, bringing an endearing sense of familiarity to the dinner table. Unchanging clichés are uttered, unfaltering formalities occur, and the host’s unwavering Christmas jumper never fails to make an appearance. And, let’s face it, we revel in the festive ritual and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Lidl’s 2021 Christmas campaign, ‘Always’, teleports loveable cast members into future decades in an unambiguous, humorously executed, perpetual promise from the retailer; They will always be Lidl on price.

Devised by Karmarama, the spot is directed by Gary Freedman through Independent films, with an intrinsic irony that - the more things change, the more they stay the same - woven into advertising’s adaptation of spot-the-difference. As the cast propel forward into future festive fantasies, the performance, script, and costume of each actor gets a space-age overhaul for the relevant decade. Uncle Gary goes from living in Spain, to the moon, to FOREVER and the turkey is cut by knife, then laser, then hologram machine. Meanwhile Oggy the dog goes from begging for a pig in blanket, to using a speech generating device, to mentally manifesting fot it – even though he’s since ‘gone vegan’. Whoever said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

Absolute were tasked with bringing the gift of VFX to a whopping 30 shots for the 60” edit, inspired initially by numerous (yet tenuous) futuristic references such as ‘Back To The Future’, ‘Fifth Element’ and ‘Beyond 2000’. “Christmas ads in the UK are a bit like Super Bowl ads,” says Absolute’s Creative Director, Jonas McQuiggin. “They're competitive, awash with spectacle and full of anticipation. So, when the opportunity to join in came down our chimney, we couldn’t say no – especially when the script was loaded with comedy, VFX and, most importantly, Christmas dinner.

With three assets to build across three renditions, the success of the execution was always going to be in the details. From initial concepting, to 3D modelling and 2D comping, our aim was cohesive: to fill the frame in a clever and humourous way. Working closely with Gary helped to ensure that the comedic timings of the VFX landed perfectly.”

A conventional holiday with an unconventional, targeted approach, Absolute’s CG Supervisor, Matt Burn, explains that the Yuletide spot is full to the brim of visual Easter eggs. “We dug deep into our stockings and pulled out a feast of blink-and-you'll-miss-it 3D treats, magic and goodies. From initial concept art to final in-shot realisation, we worked up a series of futuristic gadgets and appliances. Our team of talented CG artists were able to really explore and experiment, resulting in some lovely moments of the futurity of technology that we’re all really proud of.”

2D Lead, Chris Tobin, agrees: “The biggest challenge was the scale of detail required to emphasise the passing of time - nearly every shot needed something redesigned and composited. But Gary was super supportive of allowing us to explore different avenues, which is such a rewarding place to be creatively.”

“It was a major undertaking,” Jonas concludes. “But the collaboration between client, agency and production was nothing short of epic. What made it even better was that immediate chuckle at the first WIP… that’s always a good sign that you’re doing something right.”

Credits:

Project Name: Lidl Christmas 2021: ‘Always’
Marketing Director: Claire Farrant
Head of Campaigns & Media: Jo Gomer
Campaigns Team Manager: Rebecca Lea Hargadon
Creative Projects Lead: Vicks Foster
Campaigns Graduate: Emily Doyle
Campaigns Assistant: Jenna Webb
Creative Agency: Karmarama
Chief Creative Officer: Nik Studzinski
Creative Directors: Luke Ramm & Joe Holt
Creative Team: Fiona Moseley & Louisa Whitehead
Agency TV Producer: David White
Production Assistant: Amie Nedwell
Managing Partner: Dave Owen
Senior Account Director: Jess Harding
Account Manager: Kya Cohen-Boon
Production Company: Independent Films
Director: Gary Freedman
Producer: Ciska Faulkner
Director of Photography: John Lynch
1st AD: Benji Edwards
Production Designer: Cat Meredydd
Food Stylist: Katie Giovanni
Costume Designer: Cynthia Lawrence-John
Casting Director: Hammond Cox Casting, Thom Hammond
Edit: The Assembly Rooms
Editor: Adam Spivey
Head of Production: Daniel Breheny
Producer: Liz Trnovsky
Colour Grade: Company 3 London
Colourist: Jean-Clément Soret, Steffan Perry
Colour EP: Ellora Soret
Colour Producer: Chris Anthony
Assistant Colourist: Dominic Phipps
Data Lab Supervisor: Adam Stanndard
Post-Production: Absolute
Creative Direction: Jonas McQuiggin, Phil Oldham
2D Lead: Chris Tobin
Nuke Artists: Harvey David, Lucas Warren, Tom Clapp
CG Supervisors: Keith Rogers, Matt Burn
FX Artist: Craig Healy
CG Artists: Ollie Grant, Dan Baiton, Huggy Stephens, Sean Elliot
Concept Artist: Pedro De la Puente
Graphics: Luke Barker
Editorial: Thomas Higgins & Tom Boucher
CG Character Design: Ran Manolov
Executive Producer: Sally Heath
Senior Producer: Kirsty Ratcliffe
Production Assistant: Maddie Godsill
Sound: Wave Studios
Engineer: Tony Rapaccioli
Producer: Rebecca Boswell
Music Supervision: Major Tom