COMMERCIAL

First Christmas

Agency: Jung von Matt / DONAU • Brand: Erste Group

A fully CG Christmas film bringing a warm, cinematic story to life through character, environment and animation.

My role: Head of New Business / EP

Responsibilities: Director Pitch · Bid strategy · Production planning · Client management pre-award · Handover to lead producer

Project Scale: £350K+

Client location: Austria

Outcome: Highly awarded campaign. It went viral within 24 hours. 500+ million views. Repeat business with Jung von Matt / DONAU.

Credits

Production Company: Passion Animation Studios

Directors: Kyra & Constantin
Producer: Anna Cunnington + Rick Bland

Awards

• Cannes Lions 2019: Bronze (Film Craft and Animation)

• Eurobest 2019: Silver (Film Craft)

• The One Show 2019: Gold (Craft and Animation)

• D&AD 2019: Wood and Graphite (Animation)

• British Arrows 2019: Silver (Craft)

• Creativ Club Austria 2019: Three Golds (Art Direction / Animation / Craft)

• Clio Awards 2019: Shortlisted x 2

Deeper Dive

The “First Christmas” campaign for Erste Group Bank AG, created by Jung von Matt DONAU and Passion Animation Studios, was a highly awarded animated Christmas film featuring the character Henry the Hedgehog. I ran the pitch for the project, including overseeing the budget and production schedule which was green lit and into production. The campaign achieved significant international success, earning multiple creative industry accolades including a Cannes Lions Bronze, Gold and Merit pencils at The One Show, D&AD pencils, a LIA Gold, a British Arrows Silver, and Clio shortlistings, establishing it as one of the most recognised festive campaigns of its year. It also generated approximately ~150 million views in about 20 days and over ~500 million total reach including wider distribution and media exposure.