Thatchers unveils its first-ever Christmas advert, bringing festive magic to life with Aardman

Christmas has come to Myrtle Farm! Thatchers Cider has unveiled its first-ever Christmas TV advert, created in partnership with Aardman and Bray Leino.

Marking a festive first for the fourth-generation, family-owned cider maker, the new advert brings together Thatchers' Somerset roots and Aardman's unmistakable creative charm to tell a heartwarming Christmas story.

When heavy snowfall threatens to derail the Friday 12.30 cider tasting at Myrtle Farm, Martin Thatcher comes up with an ingenious solution. With a little inspiration from Myrtle the dog, he takes to the skies in a hot air balloon to bring the cider tasting team together, ensuring no cider leaves the farm unless it's perfect.

The advert, titled Saving Tasting Time, celebrates the lengths Thatchers goes to in pursuit of the perfect pint, bringing a little festive magic to screens across the UK.

Created at Aardman's Bristol studios, just over 20 miles away from Thatchers farm, the advert combines traditional stop-motion animation and puppetry with CGI; blending the studio's signature handcrafted charm with innovative production techniques.

Behind the scenes, hundreds of hours of craftsmanship have gone into bringing the festive film to life, with everything from bespoke costumes to snow-covered sets carefully created by hand, recreating a wintry Myrtle Farm, as a miniature replica.

The attention to detail extends to the characters themselves. Martin Thatcher's miniature coat took Aardman costume designer an entire week to make by hand, complete with an internal armature allowing it to move during animation. Meanwhile, Myrtle the dog was given a makeover, with extra flocking to create more natural movement, and a darker nose to make her expressions more noticeable on camera.