Irn Bru's "The Snowman" Advert

About

Irn Bru's "The Snowman" Advert refers to an seasonal advertisement that was created for the promotion of the Scottish beverage, Irn Bru in 2006 which parodied the 1982 animated short film The Snowman.

The music featured during the advert is a parody of the 1982 song, "Walking in the Air" which was created for The Snowman.

A sequel to the original advertisement was released in 2018 which carried on where the first left off.

The advertisement said to by many in Scotland as 'the sign of Christmas coming'.

Background

2006 advert

In the advertisement, a young ginger haired boy opens up an Irn Bru can in his snowy garden where the Snowman he created comes to life.

The Snowman grabs the boy's hand and they fly off in the air, resembling the original scenes from the 1982 film.

Tjroughout the advert, the Snowman tries to persuade the boy to let him have a sip of the Irn Bru can which he responds in denial.

Eventually, the Snowman gives up and grabs the Irn Bru out of the boys hand and flies off leaving him falling on the ground, ending up in George Square in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

2018 advert

In the sequel advertisement, the story picks up to where it left off with the boy running to a plane in the attempt to get the Irn Bru can back from the Snowman.

Throughout the advert, the boy is seen trying to chase the Snowman to get it back, passing through several Scottish landmarks such as the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, the Falkirk Wheel near Forfar, the Victoria and Albert Museum and RRS Discovery in Dundee and the Forth Bridges in Queensferry.

Whilst managing to catch up with the Snowman, the boy falls down out of the plane and on to the Snowman's back and he eventually succeeds in getting the can back but suddenly it is taken out of his hand by Santa Claus.

The advertisement ends with the boy and the Snowman flying off to try and catch Santa citing that they are heading off to Lapland.

2019 advent calendar

In 2019, Irn Bru released a limited edition advent calendar with 24 Irn Bru cans where on the packaging, included the Snowman, the ginger haired boy and Santa with the boy and Snowman trying to grab the Irn Bru can out of Santa's hand referencing the 2018 advert (see below).

Significance

The advertisement is embedded into Scottish culture and is considered by some Scots as the de-facto beginning of the Christmas season in Scotland when the advert first airs on television.

Search Interest

External References