Telus is no scrooge this holiday season, as the wireless provider busted the bank to pay for its largest online media spend to date.

To spice up the Telus online holiday gift guide at GiftGuide.TelusMobility.com, Teehan+Lax created a “magic machine” that uses video, 3D and rich imaging techniques to let consumers select the features they want in a smartphone. Visitors pull the levers for the phone options they want before pushing a button that initiates a series of Rube Goldberg-styled events involving falling snow globes, bouncing balls and toppling dominoes (Goldberg was the cartoonist famous for drawing complex devices that performed simple tasks). Once the overly complicated machine completes its various tasks, a smartphone matching the visitors preferences appears on screen.

A series of machine functions are used for each product attribute, so that the online experience is different for the user each time, explained Teehan+Lax partner Dave Stubbs.

“We want consumers to play with it and use it a couple of times,” he said. “If they like it, the assumption is they will share it with a friend. We are using humour and a smile as a pass-along trigger.”

This microsite is part of Telus’ larger holiday ad campaign, “Magic happens when you give smart.”

Taxi-produced TV, outdoor and print creative features meerkats, the Telus critter of the season, using similar “magic machines,” while Teehan+Lax created the microsite, in-store signage and online ads.

In one TV spot, the mischievous meerkats knock over a series of smartphones to create a Christmas tree pattern. In another, they use a Rube Goldberg machine to light up a tree topped with a BlackBerry Storm.

The spots began airing early this month and will continue into the holidays.

“We wanted to bring warmth and magic into the campaign,” said Rose Sauquillo, creative director at Taxi. “Consumers are always looking forward to the next spot and what the critters are going to do.”

Taxi filmed the commercials using live props, and Teehan+Lax took the stills from the preproduction set-up to use online.

According to a Teehan+Lax release, the online video was also produced thanks to recent Interactive Advertising Bureau guidelines, “resulting in rich media ads that almost match television quality.”