The Duracell Bunny is the new hero of Christmas in new integrated campaign from Wunderman Thompson

When it comes to planning a magical family Christmas, the slightest thing can bring the whole event crashing down. As every parent knows, it’s easy to forget an overlooked essential – the batteries for those new toys under the tree.

‘Bunny saves Christmas’, a new integrated campaign from Wunderman Thompson, and Bunny’s first festive outing in half a decade, is here to make sure that nothing gets in the way of a magical Christmas, thanks to Duracell Optimum battery’s superior performance.

The campaign launches on 1 November, and will run throughout the festive season, until the end of December, with activity live across EMEA and South America*.

The campaign will be led with a hero TV spot, and Bunny’s mission to power up the holidays also extends across out-of-home, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and in-store activations.

The hero TV spot shows Santa’s sleigh flying above a wintry forest, when the red-nosed reindeer, who is lighting the way, loses power and comes crashing down to the ground. But all is not lost as the Duracell Bunny speeds in, opening up the reindeer’s nose to reveal ordinary batteries. While an embarrassed-looking Santa looks on, the Bunny swaps in Duracell Optimum batteries. The reindeer’s nose immediately lights up, illuminating the forest around him even brighter than before and getting the sleigh back on track. The Bunny adds a sack of Duracell batteries to Santa’s sleigh, noting that ‘the toys are going to need them too’ before he continues his journey. The ad ends with the call to action: “Don’t risk it, choose Duracell.

The TV spot will also run in 20, 15 and 10-second versions, with executions across social bringing Bunny’s boundless energy to persuade people to choose Duracell this Christmas. Supporting ads will run across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Marco Montanaro, associate marketing director for Duracell, comments: “I’m thrilled to see the Bunny return to TV screens, with this year’s Christmas campaign serving as a reminder to make sure everyone is ready for the big day. Between the Bunny’s boundless power, and Duracell Optimum’s superior performance, Christmas is back on track.”

Tom Drew, executive creative director at Wunderman Thompson, adds: “‘Toys without batteries is like a creative department without a Christmas brief. This was a joy to play with.”

*In EMEA, activity will run in the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Denmark, Belgium and South Africa. Within South America, the campaign will run in Mexico, Chile, Columbia, Guatemala and Panama.

CREDITS

Wunderman Thompson:
Executive creative director: Tom Drew
Creative directors: Jason Berry & Antony Bell
Senior creatives: Alex Horlock & Brett James
Executive strategy director: Neil Godber
Strategy director: Jonny Park
Business directors: Lizzie Alleyne & Teodora Ninova
Senior account director: Victoria Riggio
Senior account managers: Kat Sarantopoulou & Rudi Macloskey
Senior producer: Charlie Woodall
Associate project director: Katie Oldfield
Project manager: Lauren Stubbs
Media agency: EssenceMediacom
Creative production: Hogarth Worldwide
Production company: The Mill, Paris
Director: Geoffroy BARBET-MASSIN
Grading: Nicolas GAUTIER
Grading assistant: Violette MADRID

- Supervision -
Executive producer: Fabien LECLERC
VFX producer: Marie-Cécile JUGLAIR, Kahina LAMBLIN
CG supervisor: Vincent CONI, Alexandre CORCOY
VFX coordinator: Mathilde COHEN-SELMON, Milan VICET, Alexandre DUPOUY

- Artists -
Modeling and environnement: Xin PANG, Stéphane DUFOURNIER
Generalist: Vincent CONI, Alexandre CORCOY, Guillaume THEBAULT
Matte painting: Alexia FERY
Fur: Marion RESPAUD
Rigging: Marine SISNAKI, Agathe DE CACQUERAY
Animation: Pamella NABAIS, Tristan DOMENJUS, Ferdinand BOUTARD, Alban LELIEVRE, Geoffroy BARBET-MASSIN
FX: Felix GUGLIELMI
Lighting: Guillaume DADAGLIO, Guillaume THEBAULT
Compositing: Vivien EBRAN, Killian ROY