Re:think Studio re-creates classic TV ad in Modo.

People of a certain age can likely recall the Norelco electric razor that aired for many years around the Christmas holiday season. A happy Santa Clause sledded through the snow atop a new Norelco razor. The commercial was created using stop-motion animation. This year Norelco’s Santa rides again, this time thanks to modern 3D digital design and animation technology.

Philips Norelco hired advertising agency Walton Isaacson earlier this year to create a holiday ad for Philips Norelco’s new SensoTouch 3D rechargeable razor; the agency came up with the idea of bringing back the classic ad. For the new :15 to :30 second spots, the firm wanted to imitate the original’s look, but bring it up-to-date by showing the razor in 3D.

Re:think studios of Chicago was given the job, and used Modo from Luxology to create the razor and many of the matte backgrounds. “We use Modo almost exclusively for our photo-real rendered content,” says Brian Bullock, Director of CGI and Partner at re:think studios. “Creating great CG can be very difficult and time consuming, but with Modo we never have to worry about quality or pushing deadlines because of slow render times. The speed of the renderer alone helps keep us relevant in this hyper-competitive world of advertising and design.” Once the rendering was complete, the final spots were animated in Autodesk Maya.

The ad can be seen nationwide on outlets like FOX, CBS, MTV, Adult Swim, ESPN, Comedy Central, etc. It can also be viewed online at re:think’s Vimeo page; a link is embedded below.