Can these synchronised-swimming Santas save Christmas?

Between the pandemic, the creeping rise of authoritarianism, the violent protests in too many places to count, the nail-biting US election and...everything else that will make us try to forget that 2020 ever happened, Ad Nut has simply not felt mentally ready for the Christmas ads that have started to show up in Ad Nut's inbox.

(Plus, Ad Nut is still in treatment for what could charitably be called an excessive interest in holiday ads in the past. The less said about that the better.)  

However, here comes Australian supermarket chain Aldi and its creative partner BMF, with the latest in a long line of fun Christmas-in-summertime ads, and Ad Nut suddenly feels OK about the coming holiday season. 

Ad Nut is happy to find that seeing the colour red no longer causes an immediate stress reaction. Thanks to voters—and vote counters—in the US, the colour can once again be enjoyed as a signifier of holiday cheer, rather than the signifier of one of the world's superpowers falling under the thrall of a white-supremacist, wannabee-fascist administration.

All Ad Nut wanted for Christmas was an end to the pandemic and some kind of sign that there's still hope for justice and equality in this frequently horrendous world.

Well, one down, one to go. So bring on the swimming santas, and let's celebrate with a big platter of chilled shrimp (but please, hold the chrlorine).

Compared to its ads from 2019 and 2018, Aldi seems to have decided that simple and silly was better this year than a big concept. 

In fact, creative directors Dantie van der Merwe and David Fraser are quoted in a release as saying (apparently in unison): “The world seemed in need of a ridiculous escape, so it felt like a good time to reveal Santa’s hidden talents.”

Ad Nut couldn't agree more.

The integrated campaign includes TV and online video, supported by radio, OOH, catalogue, in store POS, website and social. 

CREDITS

Creative Agency: BMF
Chief Creative Officer: Alex Derwin
Creative Directors: David Fraser and Dantie van der Merwe
Creative Team: Emily Field and Kiah Nicholas
Designer: Matthew Hughes
Chief Strategy Officer: Christina Aventi
Group Strategy Director: Kinga Papp
Senior Strategic Planner: Kellie Box
General Manager: Paul Coles
Deputy Head of Account Management: Aisling Colley
Senior Account Director: Hayley Basham
Account Manager: India Gates
Account Executive: Flora Fraser
Head of TV: Jenny Lee-Archer
Agency Producer: Claire Seffrin
Director: Hamish Rothwell
Production Company: Good Oil
Executive Producer:  Juliet Bishop
Producer: Tracey-Lee Permall
Post Production: Blockhead
VFX Supervisor: Jesse Meha
Editor: Lucas Baynes, Arc Edit
Sound Production: Rumble Studios
Music Supervision – ‘Skwod’: Trailer Media
Composer: Elliott Wheeler, Turning Studios
DOP: Geoffrey Simpson
Production Company: Bantam
Content Director: Al Moore
Art Buyer: Basir Salleh
Photographer: Tom Wholohan
Producer: Audra Diciunas and Georgie Lineham
Head of Retouching: Rhiannon Jansma
Production Director: Julie Sorrell

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.