"BIG Christmas"

3 November 2024

1 min 45s

Going big for Christmas.

Sainsbury's has turned to Roald Dahl's much loved character the BFG to go big this Christmas, and the result is a thoroughly charming epic from director Sam Brown. Agency New Commercial Arts set themselves a considerable challenge when they opted to use such a familiar character, especially as they would have to invent their own version of him.

The character design is perfect as it stays faithful to Dahl's description and the previous depictions while injecting the BFG with an elevated level of gentleness. His 'Sophie' is a Sainsbury's staff member (and she really is, by the way) and she plays a huge part in generating the magic. The two travel the land looking for the ingredients needed to create the perfect Christmas.

The script contains variations of the distinctive malapropisms invented by Roald Dahl in the original book, and they are charmingly deployed here... Sainsbury's will be missing a trick if they don't start selling Beef Welliboots as quickly as possible!

The music from composer from Alex Baranowski makes a vital contribution as well. It has a grandeur that reinforces the sense that this is a magical epic, and its rousing ending lifts the last moments of the ad to ensure viewers know that the joy of Christmas is on its way.

UK

Supermarkets