Stocklands celebrate an Aussie Christmas with animated holiday campaign
Stockland Centre is celebrating an Aussie Christmas with 'The Story of Dunder', the Australian reindeer.
The retail centre has created a heart-warming animated film on the much loved but forgotten reindeer from Down Under, Dunder, highlighting the Australian Christmas spirit which means something a little different to everyone.
The commercial opens on Santa's ranch, with the narrator regaling the colourful tale of Dunder, who no one seems to remember, not even the jolly man himself.
We then cut to a night in which Christmas was close to ruin. On his route through the Pacific, an Australian white ibis causes a crash, sending all the presents into the sky and the sleigh to the ground. Christmas through the region appears to be in tatters.
But the day is saved when Dunder suggests they visit a Stockland Centre to stock up on presents. As they rush through the shops, with the help of the Ibis, Santa's sack is quickly replenished.
The story ends with a little boy who has read the story and in addition to the carrots and milk, leaves a Lamington cake for the little Aussie reindeer.
Ben Allen, general manager of customer and group marketing at Stockland, said: “We wanted to celebrate the unique Australian Christmas spirit that makes us all so proud to live in this country. That’s the spirit that Dunder embodies.”
Matt Ennis, creative director at Host Havas, added: “‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ was created by Edmund Clarence Stedman almost 200 years ago. In the earliest known printing of the poem, the name given to Santa's seventh reindeer was ‘Dunder’. Over the years, thanks to movies, songs and pop culture, Dunder was replaced with Donner, or even Donder.
"Christmas is a time for thinking about someone you haven’t in a while, so we thought it fitting to give this forgotten reindeer the spotlight.”
There are some nice nods to Australia, with Dunder's eyes representing the colours of the nation, an Ibis causing the seasonal calamity, various Australian locations featured throughout Santa's trip and the lamington cake.
The campaign will be supported through owned channels, cinema, social, digital, print, radio and in-centre display advertising.
Check out the latest holiday ads from Australia and New Zealand here, and keep an eye on The Drum's ongoing Christmas coverage.