Shredded Wheat Jesus

Shredded Wheat Jesus features the classic 1950s Catholic Bleeding Heart Jesus, the one with the glowing, flaming heart front and centre, like the ultimate vintage star product. In this animation he's a supernatural dispenser, handing out treats with a ka ching, divine grace with maximum convenience.

I backed him with a team of saints who quietly morph into various consumer goods, so the whole scene's kind of mystical supermarket aisle and an oddly enjoyable ride through a hyperreal consumer comfort holiness.

The soundtrack is Seeburg's I'll Be Home for Christmas, with added sound effects to nudge it into a pleasantly surreal zone. It's from the “Stimulus Progression Era,” Muzak's attempt to engineer emotions with soft, steady energy, adds to looping, slightly dreamy, 'I'm browsing and look at the choice' effect I was after. The Christmas theme brings a mix of nostalgia and consumerism, while the “home” theme contrasts with the idea of a divine vending machine that never clocks off, It's the kind of tune that makes you feel like everything's going to be alright although at the end Santa laughs, and it's a bit sinister