Allegro says it's time for Christmas

Presents are one thing - who doesn't like receiving gifts? - but this new spot from Polish online retailer Allegro is a story about something one young girl craves more than anything else; her father's time.  

Produced through Moon Films by Minted Content director Sune Sorensen and created by DDB Warsaw the two-and-a-half minute film, which translates from Polish to Here and Now: A Christmas Story, is set to a new recording of the Ben. E. King classic Stand By Me and follows Ida, a young girl whose imaginary friends help pack her school lunch or catch the bus on time. Others keep her company when she’s alone, or cheer her up when she’s down, but what they all have in common is that they fill a void, one her busy parents, especially her out-early and home-late father, struggle to fill.

“It’s a very real story about parenthood and childhood, about the loss of innocence, about growing and not wanting to grow too fast, and about the little things that matter the most," said Sorensen. "It’s not tropey or clichéd, it’s a contemporary reflection on grappling with the balance of family, work, and life. Ida’s imaginary friends are more than an expression of her vivid fantasy, they’re a coping mechanism. That’s also why I didn’t want the infatuation with AI or effects to overshadow the heart of the film.”

The spot used AI in the creation of the creatures and required new creative and technical solutions to bring everything to life. “AI is a powerful tool, but it behaves very differently from traditional VFX, so you have to understand both its limits and its advantages," added Sorensen. "Ideas that are traditionally costly (i.e. multiple characters) can be achieved with much less effort, while those that are usually accomplished more easily (i.e. interactions) can prove more complicated. But ultimately, story still comes first”.