How does Santa roll? Judging from a new Marcus Nispel-directed ad for Harley Davidson - edited by Einar of Union with post/vfx by resolution - the answer would be: on a Harley.

In the spot, via Carmichael Lynch/Minneapolis, old Kris Kringle rips through town, leading a caravan of choppers that replace the snowflake-light chime of the reindeer squad with the down and dirty growl of "Hell's Bells". 

You can view the commercial on our YouTube channel here.

"We all treated this project more like a movie trailer, or a short film, than a commercial," Einar noted. "The client was atypical as well - they were more about the idea of this badass Santa dropping by with his crew of Harley reindeer than just selling motorcycles. For an editor, it was fantastic to focus on storytelling and let the story sell the product."

"This spot is so raw compared to all the other stuff that's out there for the holiday season," added resolution VFX supervisor/Senior VFX artist Todd Iorio, whose work on the project served to enhance both the traditional wintry feel of the spot and underscore the mayhem of Santa's badass squad. "I don't know how they got their client to buy off on it but I think we have some great spots as a result."

Client: Harley Davidson

Spot Title: "Hell's Bells"

Air Date: December 7, 2007

Agency: Carmichael Lynch/Minneapolis
Chief Creative Officer: Mike Lescarbeau
Executive Creative Director: Jim Nelson
Assoc. Creative Director/Art Director: Bob Berken
Senior Writer: Heath Pochucha
Director of Broadcast Production: Joe Grundhoefer
Associate Broadcast Producer: Tara Mulholland

Production Company: MJZ/LA
Director: Marcus Nispel
EP(s): Lisa Margulis, David Zander
Producer: Vincent Oster
Production Manager: Stacie Zekanis

Editorial Company: Union Editorial
Editor: Einar
Producer(s): Joe Ross, Megan Dahlman
Executive Producer: Michael Raimondi

Post/VFX: resolution
VFX supervisor/Senior VFX artist: Todd Iorio
VFX artist: Dominik Bauch