Anomaly launched a new Star Wars-themed holiday ad for Duracell entitled “Battle for Christmas Morning” which boasts authentic special effects and even a cameo by Anthony Daniels as C3PO. Anomaly teamed up with Pacific Rim Studios, director Shawn Levy, Disney, Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound for the 60-second spot, which should tell you something about its cinematic production quality. It opens on a boy ripping open a package of Duracell batteries and loading them in his lightsaber. Suddenly he’s facing a stormtrooper barrage as C3PO worries about the odds. He makes his way through the house, fending off imperial forces, until his parents inform him his sister is in the backyard and the two team up to take on an even greater challenge. The concept is fairly basic, based on the power of imagination, but its execution, particularly with all the authentic Star Wars bells and whistles, should appeal to parents who will be stocking up on Star Wars toys for their kids this holiday season. “Battle for Christmas Morning” debuted on YouTube, Hulu and the brand’s social media pages and will also appear in theatres and an edited broadcast version will run during shows such as The Price is Right, Dr. Ken and Let’s Make a Deal leading up to the December 17 release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “Everything was very genuine to the Star Wars universe,” Anomaly group creative director Seth Jacobs told Adweek. “So much so that our costumes needed to travel from The Force Awakens set in London to Los Angeles, where we were shooting. Then they were watched over by Disney security 24 hours a day for the duration of our shoot.” Credits:
Client: Duracell Spot: “Battle for Christmas Morning”
Agency: Anomaly CCO: Mike Byrne Group CD: Seth Jacobs Senior Copywriter: Barry Katz Senior Art Director: Alex Kaplan Head of Production: Andrew Loevenguth Sr Producer: Matt Flaherty Business Director: Damien Reid Account Director: Matt Nigro Accout Supervisor: Carmen Cramer Account Executive: Sam Gray Project Manager: Megan Enneking Business Affairs: Marissa Burnett
Prod. Company: Pacific Rim Films Director: Shawn Levy Executive Producer: Annie Johnson Executive Producer: Bryan Mitchell Producer: Rob Newman Director of Photography: Dan Mindel 1st AD: Bruce Moriarty Production Designer: Tom Meyer Wardrobe Stylist: Christine Wada Casting: Lisa Fields LA / Tesley+Co NY
Lucas Film Creative Director: Ali Compercio Creative Director: Derek Stothard
Editorial: Arcade Editor: Jeff Farruzzo Executive Producer: Sila Soyer Producer: Fanny Cruz Flame Artist: Tristian Wake Asst. Editor: Mark Popham
Post: Industrial Light & Magic VFX Supervisor: Nigel Sumner Producer: Megan Matousek
Telecine: Company 3 Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld
Sound Mix: Skysound Audio Engineer/Sound Design: Chris Scarabosio Music Editor: Dean Menta Producer: Matthew Wood
Music: John Williams Composer: John Williams Tracks: -Star Wars Theme -Fighting Destroyer Droids -Ben Kenobi’s Death/Tie Fighter Attack