John Lewis has done it. M&S and Sainsbury’s do it. And, of course, Coca Cola has been doing it for years.
Now, The Trentham Estate has launched its own Christmas advert, focusing on the famous Trentham fairies which have cast enough of a spell in recent years to transform this top attraction into a magical kingdom…and who now spring to life in a new festive commercial.
Just in case you’ve not seen it already, Trentham’s timely entrance onto the festive stage can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PyGnj1R2mc.
The main focus is on Trentham’s Shopping Village, with visitors following a fairy trail that leads them through the timber lodge shops with their Christmas window displays, in search of singing reindeer and seasonal gifts, and – finally – to where Santa (and Mrs) Claus are enjoying a creamy cup of hot chocolate.
The thirty second video manages to combine a stocking-full of Christmas magic with many of the experiences that are on offer in the Trentham Shopping Village between now and December 24.
The video itself will be shown on ITV and Sky TV as video on demand – as well as across the internet in rich media ads. The Trentham Estate will back all that up by posting regularly on their social media channels, with calls to action to raise awareness of this innovative media campaign.
“We’ll be inviting everyone – their friends, family and all potential visitors – to ‘Make Christmas Magical’ across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,” said Grant Mantle, Marketing Manager at The Trentham Estate.
He added, “Some fantastically creative, local people have helped us make this all happen, including Junction15, Carse and Waterman, Robin the Fairyman at Fantasywire…and of course Santa, Mrs Claus and our Christmas fairy!”
Carse and Waterman Director Gary Carse, meanwhile, explained: “About five years ago, I was walking around Trentham Gardens with my family and I said ‘these fairies would look great animated’. Well, this Christmas I was lucky enough to make it happen! – and they do look great animated”.
Fantasywire’s Robin Wight, noted: “I was impressed with the animation team when I first met them, but thought they had a challenge on their hands to render the wire texture. I never expected to see such a realistic texture and fluidity of movement. It gives me a genuine thrill to see (ostensibly) my fairies animated.”
Local film company, Junction 15, has been producing films for the Trentham Estate for over six years; and Darren Teale, the director of the Christmas advert and co-founder of Junction 15 said, “We always love working with the Trentham Estate. Filming the Christmas commercial and being able to bring the fantastic Fantasywire fairy to life has been a great opportunity to show that local creative talent can produce work that is of the highest professional level.
“We worked with the amazing team of animators at Carse and Waterman on a TV advert in 2018, which has since been recognised for an award in America, so they were the obvious choice to partner with once again”.
For more details of Trentham’s magical Christmas, visit www.trentham.co.uk.