The World Needs More Santas
Coca-Cola’s Christmas ad fizzes with VFX talent as Framestore works with Traktor and Anthony Dod Mantle to bring Santa to town.
To deliver the Coca-Cola Christmas ad, which is one of the most watched commercials globally, Framestore collaborated closely with the Agency, VMLY&R and a trio of the industry’s most revered talent, including the legendary director collective Traktor, the Academy Award winning Director of Photography Anthony Dod Mantle as well as one of the top grading artists globally, Jean-Clément Soret.
The commercial initially transports us into a festive city filled with gorgeously glowing Santas which we follow as they spread Christmas joy and kindness before it’s revealed that the big man himself is a metaphor that anyone can be kind and good. In fact anyone can be Santa.
Headed up by Kamen Markov, Framestore carried out extensive comp work for the spot, including multiplying the same actor playing Santa by stitching multiple plates together in situ.
The team also delivered the iconic Coca-Cola Christmas truck in CG, enhanced the environments with beautiful VFX work including ground snow, Christmas decorations in the streets and adding additional depth to the beautifully enhanced wide shots.
“Having worked with Traktor for more than a decade, we’ve built a tremendous amount of trust, and the whole process was an exercise of creative professionalism,” said Kamen Markov. “In a complex project such as this one, we couldn't be happier that Anthony Dod Mantle was on board, and as challenging as this project was to shoot, we made a smooth ride out of it, largely thanks to the fantastic support, trust and understanding of the Agency VMLY&R.”
Working seamlessly alongside the team was master colourist Jean-Clément Soret at Company 3, who offered up a warm grade which transcends the winter scenes.
Ending on the evocative words 'The World Needs More Santas' this Christmas collaboration quenches our annual thirst for a feel-good Christmas advertising offering.