Santa Takes a Ride on a Norelco, Again

By Bob Marshall 

This year, agency Walton Isaacson teamed up with re:think Studios to bring a modern update to Philips Norelco’s classic stop-motion animation Christmas commercials from decades past. How iconic was the image of St. Nick sledding down a hill on a Norelco electric razor-head? Take, a look at a 1970s spot posted on YouTube, and you’ll see commenters saying things like “From the ’60s onward, these commercials with Santa on the shaver meant Christmas was coming…true classics!” It was to an older generation what a “Claymation Christmas” (featuring the California Raisins) was to mine.

Of course, Norelco’s razor design isn’t the only thing that’s changed since the 1970s. Utilizing new advances in 3-D design, modeling and animation, Walton Isaacson, re:think and So-Cal based animation studio BixPix Entertainment have churned out a sharp-looking modernization of the spot, and this time around the Philips Norelco Sensotouch 3-D (with a rocket booster?) stars and Mr. Claus’ chosen means of transportation. And, for yet another year, Santa Claus is granted the ability to give presents and a shave to good children around the world.

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