The Duracell Bunny is a Christmas hero as it saves Santa from a blackout in the battery brand’s first festive campaign in five years.

Launching on 1 November, ‘Bunny saves Christmas’ is a new integrated campaign from international agency Wunderman Thompson UK.

To mark the bunny’s first festive outing in half a decade, the battery brand’s anthropomorphic hero makes sure that nothing gets in the way of a magical Christmas, saving Santa’s route from near-disaster by offering a helping hand after the main man himself forgot the importance of having back-up batteries to hand.

The campaign will be led with a hero TV spot, which will also run in 20, 15 and 10-second versions, as well as extending across out-of-home, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and in-store activations.

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The 30-second hero TV spot shows Santa’s sleigh flying above a wintry forest, when a certain red-nosed reindeer loses power and comes crashing down to the ground. Enter the Duracell Bunny, who speeds in and opens up the reindeer’s nose to reveal ordinary batteries – which he duly swops for Duracell Optimum, while an embarrassed Santa looks on.

Once the sleigh is back on track, the Duracell Bunny adds a sack of batteries to Santa’s sleigh, noting that ‘the toys are going to need them too’ before he continues his journey. The ad ends with the call to action: “Don’t risk it, choose Duracell”.

Wunderman Thompson executive creative director Tom Drew said the ad was a “joy to play with”, adding that “toys without batteries are like a creative department without a Christmas brief”.

“I’m thrilled to see the bunny return to TV screens, with this year’s Christmas campaign serving as a reminder to make sure everyone is ready for the big day,” added Duracell associate marketing director Marco Montanaro.

“Christmas is back on track.”