Duracell Pairs Its Bunny With Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Duracell’s bunny gets a bright idea to save Christmas when Rudolph the Reindeer’s red nose goes dark.

Now, this is a battery commercial. So, if you’re thinking some electrochemical cells come into play…

…yep, that’s exactly what happens in an animated :60 developed by Wunderman Thompson and director Geoffroy Barbet-Massin through production house The Mill.

To be clear, this isn’t the better-known Energizer Bunny. That scrappy dude with a drum would’ve delivered the presents himself!

Still, it’s a cute campaign; look for elements across TV, social media and in-store activations in global markets.

“Duracell’s main target is young parents,” Wunderman creative director Antony Bell tells Muse. “This ad will resonate not only because we’re parodying a well-known Christmas story, but also Santa could be them. No-one wants that feeling that they’ve potentially messed up an element of Christmas. And what’s a battery-powered Christmas toy without good batteries?”

As for the production style, sort of like supercharged Rankin-Bass: “The fully 3D film meant we had way more control over the scenes compared to traditional filming, where we put Bunny in over the top after we’ve shot,” Bell says. “So, it was particularly fun to have that level of freedom, control and deep dive shot by shot, expression by expression, to show off how Bunny is saving Christmas.”