ASDA calls in Gnibbles, Gnorma, Gnicky, and Gnarla this Christmas
In a sea of celebrity and franchise-heavy ads, ASDA is championing its own original Christmas content. But how does it fare in the competitive Yule Tide market?
Asda Christmas campaigns have in past years been swamped by celebrity faces. This year, however, the supermarket chain shoots for humour, fun and a bit of relatability by making an unashamedly kitsch ad featuring a team of animated garden gnomes.
Asda’s “festive gnomes” have become a central part of its Christmas decorations and marketing materials. Fans can even buy the gnomes as collectables, making them an established seasonal favourite.
Marking a departure from recent festive ads, featuring stars like Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf (2022) and Michael Bublé (2023), Asda is introducing characters including Max, Gnibbles, Gnorma, Gnicky, and Gnarla: a team of ceramic “gnomies” tasked with transforming a storm-hit store into a holiday wonderland.
The advert’s story begins with Asda employees Maggie and Bill (‘relatable staff’ inclusions are hot this year), who activate the gnomes by pressing Max’s glowing nose. Set to the nostalgic theme of ‘The A-Team’, the gnomes tackle festive preparations, showcasing Asda’s seasonal products, from the “Exceptional” mince pies to party-ready clothing items and speciality foods.
As the adventure unfolds, the scene culminates with the iconic “Driving Home for Christmas” jingle — playfully altered to “Driving Gnome for Christmas.”
Our take
Maybe it’s all the sombre, heart-string plucking ads I’ve watched this week, but going into my first viewing of ASDA’s Christmas campaign I was unprepared for the unashamedly high ‘cute factor’ it had in store.
In a landscape awash with CGI ads, I was also surprised by the attention to detail that’s gone into the admittedly adorable animation: presumably, all the money saved on celebrity fees has gone into quality creative production.
(I would later discover that the commercial took seven months to produce, with more than 3,000 hours of animation work. It’s paid off, we reckon.)
The characterisation effort here is seemingly an attempt to give the reinvigorated gnomes a well-earned place in seasonal marketing materials: and frankly, I hope their sense of frivolity captures the hearts of fickle supermarket customers.
There’s certainly an admirable precedent for memorable original characters from rival retailers: M&S’ beloved Percy Pig and Colin the Caterpillar; John Lewis’ The Bear and the Hare; Aldi’s Kevin The Carrot.
Quite the competition then, but we reckon ASDA gnomes what it’s doing.
Credits
Project name: Asda – The Gnome of Christmas
Client: Asda
Creative agency: Havas London
Chief Creative Officer: Vicki Maguire
Executive Creative Director: Dan Cole
Executive Creative Director: Andy Garnett
Senior creative: Alex Jones
Senior creative: Emily Camacho
Junior creative: Oscar Frost
Junior creative: Muskaan Razdan
Account team:
Chief Executive Officer: James Fox
Managing Partner: Dave Owen
Senior Account Director: Perla Perlini
Senior Account Manager: Peter Churchward
Account Executive: Thando May-Mtindi
Head of Social: Shelley Portet
Head of Film: Louise Bonnar
Production Lead: Sarah Cowen
Senior Producer: Adam Henderson
Producer: Sian O’Halloran
Assistant Agency Producer: Hilary-Nyce Aremu, Kezia Claydon and Ella Myerscough-McClymont
Business Affairs: Simon Sole, Marta Kisluk and Claire Lillis
Content team:
Creative Production Director: Hannah Levy
Creative Producers: Dean Trendler and Andrew Stevenson
CSO/Head of Strategy:
Strategy partner: Lee Barber
Strategy Director: Jack Lewis-Barclay
Strategist: Francesca Johnston
Chief Design Officer: Lorenzo Fruzza
Senior Designer: Sam Kallen
Senior Designer: Luke Remon
Senior Designer: Miles Niblett
Senior Designer: Sarni Strachan
Junior Designer: Sam Adams
Media agency: Spark Foundry
Managing Partner: Kat Broomhead
Client Partner: Louise Davies
Account Director: Clare Miles
Account Manager: Maria O’Hanrahan
Production company: Hungry Man
Director: Bryan Buckley
Managing Partner: Matt Buels
Executive Producer: Matt Lefebvre
Producer: Camilla Cullen
DoP: Hoyte Van Hoytema
Production Designer: David Skinner
1st AD: Joe Carter
Editing: Cabin Editing Company
Editor: Chan Hatcher
Edit Assistants: Magda Plugowska, Craig Griffiths, Victoria Man
Senior Producer: Caylee Banz
Executive Producer: Kayt Hall and Ruth Minkley
Post Production: RASCAL
ECD/VFX Supervisor: Andrew Barnsley Wood
2D Lead: Chris Tobin
3D Lead: Dan Newlands / Phil Maddock
Animation Director: Jimmy Kiddel
Lead Animator: Rémy Herissé
Colourist: James Bamford
Head of Production: James Beck
Executive Producer: Colin Oaten
VFX Producer: Ellie Thwaites
Sound: 750mph
Mix: Sam Ashwell
Sound Design: Sam Ashwell and Mark Hellaby
Head of Production: Olivia Ray
Music House: THE HOGAN
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