Gingerbread Family Builds a Home in Stop-Motion Christmas Ad for German Bank

PASSION PICTURES’ renowned stop-motion director Mark Waring directs Christmas film for German banking group Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, produced PASSION Commercials (a division of PASSION PICTURES) with agency DDB Berlin.

The emotional film 'The Gingerbread House' is told in two parts. In animation it’s the story of a little gingerbread boy who meets a reindeer, freezing in a cold winter forest. The boy struggles to build a shelter from gingerbread but when his whole family lend a hand they manage to build and decorate the house ready for Christmas. The film switches to live action showing a real little boy sat in front of a real gingerbread house that he and his family have just built together.

Brought to life by the artists in PASSION’s CG Studio, the film was directed by stop-motion master Mark Waring. Led by his expertise, PASSION Studio were able to add detailed textures and animate on every second frame to give a crafted, tactile look to the film, reflecting the homemade and highly decorated gingerbread house the family in the film build together.

Belle Palmer, co-MD/EP of new business, PASSION Commercials, said: “We're delighted to have partnered Stopframe master Mark Waring with DDB Berlin this year to create this very special film. Our team have yet again translated Mark's Stopframe hallmarks into CG animation to craft a unique world for Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken. We've all fallen in love with our wonderfully wonky gingerbread family."

This film continues PASSION PICTURES’ run of producing character and story driven commercials at Christmas, most recently creating films featuring the iconic Paddington Bear for Barbour as well as emotional festive spots for Toyota and Great Ormond Street Hospital.