Target Betting Big On A "Nutcracker" Remix “THE TOYCRACKER” PREMIERE EVENT With John & Chrissy on December 11th

 “THE TOYCRACKER” PREMIERE EVENT

The eight-minute branded musical will ride the cultural coattails of ABC's broadcast premiere of Frozen on December 11.

Style Credits: Mario Dice Eggshell Jumpsuit with Pearl and Swarovski Crystal Embellished Bodice from the Spring 2017 Collection

The eight-minute branded musical will ride the cultural coattails of ABC's broadcast premiere of Frozen on December 11.

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Ever see The Nutcracker as a kid? The beautiful costumes, the mesmerizing music, the elegant dancing, the epic rap battle. Wait, what? Yeah, about that. Of course, the rap battle isn't exactly in the Tchaikovsky version, but this year Target and agency 72 and Sunny took a few liberties with the classic ballet for the culmination of the retailer's holiday campaign.

Check out some behind the scenes footage here: 

Set to debut during ABC's broadcast premiere of Frozen on December 11, The Toycracker is an eight-minute remake of the classic Christmas ballet, this time starring Chrissy Teigen and John Legend as the Nutcracker and Rat King, respectively, and toys like Barbie, Elmo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Lego Batman standing in for the gingerbread soldiers. Other collaborators include Tony-nominated lyricist Benj Pasek, Grammy-winning musical producer Ariel Rechtshaid, and frequent Wes Anderson cinematographer Robert Yeoman.

So Target started seeding anticipation during the World Series with a fun spot that takes place backstage of a then-unnamed production. The brand's chief creative officer Todd Waterbury says the production theme is a metaphor for how many families view the holiday season. It's the kind of big-budget, swing for the fences you might expect from a major retailer around this time of year, with the Broadway theme giving it a certain old school charm. Old school like debuting a major ad during a broadcast network premiere of a Disney movie. Except in 2016, marketers know that they're just one boring moment away from viewers flipping over to their already weathered DVD or iTunes copy of Frozen.

"They're really putting on a production of their very own, there are a number of steps involved getting ready for the season, to make those moments with friends and family as special as possible," says Waterbury. "That's what led us to introducing Marisol and Bullseye as the directors of our own production. What people didn't know at the time was, not only were we creating a series of TV commercials about behind the scenes of a big production, we were able to actually bring that production to life."

Work on the campaign began in March, and 72andSunny executive creative director Matt Murphy says the final product reflect's the brand's desire to use its marketing muscle to make its own cultural mark.

"Look at culture this year, with the success of Hamilton, which is a retelling of a known tale with a modern twist," says Murphy. "Target always wants to have one foot in culture, so the idea of telling a classic tale like The Nutcracker with a modern twist of our own, that was the idea to create something for culture."

Waterbury says that eye on culture also significantly informed not just the production, but where and when people would first see it. "When we saw that ABC was going to premiere Frozen for the first time on network television during a really important part of the holiday season, for us it felt like an incredible opportunity for Target to be part of this cultural experience," says Waterbury. "We know families will be gathering together to watch, and it's an important audience for us because they're going to be watching it with a sense of anticipation and joy, and to be part of that experience, for us made a lot of sense in terms of strategic media placement. It's important to have presence with purpose. We want to make sure we not only have presence during these moments, but real purpose and recognizing what people are there for, and finding ways we can bring something extra special to that moment." 

The media landscape has long become a crowded bar fight for our attention, one that only gets more intense in the days between Halloween and New Year's—the hallowed fourth quarter holiday season. You can't swing a bull terrier by the tail without hitting a sign (or banner ad) for a bargain. The Toycracker is Target's hope to break through all of that clutter.

"From a Target standpoint, The Toycracker is what we call a gift back to culture," says Murphy. "It's about togetherness and inclusion, something the world needs more of. It's one of those brands that sees value in using a holiday campaign to not only drive what they need to do at retail, but also put something back into the world that helps people be optimistic and appreciate what's right in the world. When you do that well, you can cut through the clutter."

WHAT MAKES A GREAT XMAS AD

look no further than across the pond:

Waites: "Christmas is about family, expectation, forgiveness, religion, legend, the dirty old town redressed in a blanket of purest snow—take your pick. Christmas even has its own soundtrack."

Grieve/Rossi: "The short answer is the same as any great ad no matter what time of year it appears: insight, simplicity, originality. Of course you’re not going to go wrong by sprinkling a bit of Christmas sugar over your ad and leveraging things like nostalgia, the feel-good factor and the heartwarming glow of a tale well told. That’s what we tried to do with "Mog’s Christmas Calamity" for Sainsbury’s. But it’s important not to sprinkle too much sugar. That just ends up making everyone feel sick. In stark opposition we employed Jeff Goldblum for Currys PC World to teach the nation how to act in the face of being given terrible presents. They’re both completely different in their tone and approach and yet both completely right."

Douglas: "There's no secret formula. The key, I think, is to find the convergent spot between your brand's tone and the mood of the nation at large. One year, schmultz might work. The next, it could fall flat. It's almost impossible to predict how it will go."

Godber: "It’s difficult to pin down the exact ingredients for the perfect Christmas ad, and it will to some extent depend on who you are as a brand. For example, premium and luxury brands can almost afford to ignore Christmas in a show of defiant strength, indicating they don’t need Christmas, Christmas needs them. Alternatively, mainstream brands have on occasion tried to buck the Christmas trend and stand out by showing the darker more distressed side of Christmas, think Waitrose not making a glossy ad, giving their money to charity, or supermarkets showing the stress for mums. But in general, brands need to find their place in the contagious goodwill of Christmas in a way that suits their voice. This year we've seen brands playing on the extension of our feelings of social responsibility towards those less advantaged or forgotten in society, think John Lewis reaching out to older people, or Sainsbury's in their epic Mog the Cat."

Brim: "The same as the ingredients for any great ad. It’s about making people feel something. We try to get there with a strong story, beautifully told."

Pay: "It should stop you in your tracks and switch on one of two mega emotions—laughter or tears. Christmas is all about the heart not the head."

Faithfull: "The fundamental difference between Christmas ads in the U.K. and the Super Bowl in the U.S. is context. We watch the run down of the Super Bowl ads with drooling jealousy at how open the playing field is—most have nothing to do with football. However, given the old adage of the freedom of a tight brief, it does make the creative task all the more rewarding when you nail it despite the self-imposed mandatories. Christmas ads need to make you feel something, something good ideally, but it isn’t always the case. A healthy dose of nostalgia will do wonders. It is Christmas after all. But just like any other time of the year real success is often just doing whatever everyone else isn’t. You don’t have to put Christmas on a pedestal to make entertaining work that’s fit for the festive season. Our Warburtons Giant Crumpets ad featuring The Muppets does not make a single direct reference to Christmas. And it's all the better for it."