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ABSOLUTE WARP TIME FOR LIDL’S FORWARD-THINKING CHRISTMAS CORKER

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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.” 

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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.” 

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“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  

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