Christmas came early - literally - for the Piranha Bar team this year in the form of a new 60 second film for Lidl Ireland's Christmas food range. Directed by Gavin Kelly, he notes “We have been reveling in snowy Christmas cheer since before you put your BBQ away!”

The spot for BBDO Dublin, sees Lidl’s toy elves mount a store takeover for a night of food testing and quality control high jinks. The spot is an ambitious mix of live action food, a store location (shot in a local store using all local crew) and of course multiple CG characters and elaborate sets, all to the tune of 'We Need A Little Christmas', essential after this tumultuous year.

The spot features animated versions of Lidl Ireland's plush toy Elves which Piranha Bar transformed into a host of characters, each with its own unique personality. From the officious Head Elf with his Steampunk clipboard to the factory Elf on the doss beside the Taste-O-Meter, the simple seasonal toys are transformed into a plucky crew with no time to lose getting all of Lidl’s fantastic Christmas food in order.

Director: Gavin Kelly

Producer: Emily Brady
DoP: Ivan McCullough & Piers McGrail
Creative Director | CG Supervisor: Simon Burke
Lead 3D: Sam Boyd
Senior 3D: Cormac Kelly
3D: Ciaran Talbot, Mario Domingos, Jack Bowler, Ronan Coyle, Kat Stachura, Daniel McGuire, Emanuel Raimundo, Ricardo Ferro
Designer: Shaun Kelly
Additional Designs: Flavio Remontti & Carlos Muñoz
Animators: John T Coomey, Jose Carlos Poeiras, Abhinit Bodke
2D Design & Animation: Alex Murphy
Editor: Sean King
Compositors: Dan Cullen & Mark Bailey
Junior Compositor: Dan Mc Nicholl
Grade: Gary Curran @ Outer Limits

Agency: BBDO Dublin
Creatives: Gerry McBride & James Carr
Executive Creative Director: Shane O'Brien
Agency Producer: Georgia Stevenson
BBDO Company Director: Sinead Lee
Project Director: Emma Corcoran
Snr Account Manager: Elana Murphy
Account Executive: Norah Conlon