The Marketers Who Make Christmas

The Christmas campaign blitz is now almost as traditional as mince pies and carols. This year’s supermarket advertising battle, however, is less Christmas schmaltz but instead focuses on brilliant storytelling as a key strategy - an incredibly potent force for driving new conversations and capturing people's attention. And a true showcase of ferocious brand ambitions and a passionate pursuit of great work.

Christmas is about warmth, about emotion and about togetherness. OK, let's throw in the tinsel too, and sometimes a dollop of celebrity. But critically if you’re a retailer that positions itself as being at the heart of Middle England, a Christmas campaign that connects with people on a deep level is what will make it more effective and memorable.

It's the season when people are waiting for not just Christmas advertising at its best, but advertising at its best. Brands that understand this know they need to inject the magic of storytelling into their marketing to tap into people’s emotions and as a foundation to their growth strategy. Good marketers and great brands have been telling stories for years. Creative Salon, therefore, celebrates the marketers bringing on the Christmas cheer.

Merry Christmas to all.

Charlotte Lock, customer director, John Lewis

If any brand can be held responsible for starting the Christmas campaign blitz, it has be John Lewis. The John Lewis Christmas ad – a highly anticipated staple of the festive season since 2008 - this year takes a trip down memory lane, following a woman frantically buying a last-minute gift for her sister. Created by Saatchi & Saatchi, the campaign highlights the magic of festive shopping, and the quest for the perfect gift for a special person. The marketer behind the the John Lewis Christmas magic that channels a little bit of Narnia and a little bit of Richard Curtis is Charlotte Lock - who's been shepherding the brand since April 2022. A year later, she appointed Saatchi & Saatchi to handle the advertising business. In a recent interview with Creative Salon, Lock says: “The Christmas campaign's really positioning us as the home of gifting, and the shop is at the heart of that, which was a very deliberate part of the brief. We’ve been talking [with the Saatchi team] for the past year about we how we bring John Lewis back to what everybody loves about it, and the shop just felt so critical. And we wanted the truth and authenticity of a real story, so we didn’t want a character." The film was shot in the retailer’s flagship Oxford Street store, and once again features that vital ingredient of any John Lewis Christmas campaign – an emotive soundtrack featuring the cover of a classic song. This time it’s from Ivor Novello Award-Winning Richard Ashcroft, of The Verve fame, with ‘Sonnet’.

It's the highest-scoring John Lewis Christmas ad in System1's testing since 2019 with the strongest brand recognition (distinctiveness) since 2012.

In September this year, Lock bought back the 100-year-old ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ brand promise.

Nathan Ansell, chief marketing officer, Waitrose

Who would have thought it? The supermarket’s second Christmas campaign with agency Saatchi & Saatchi – and Ansell’s second festive campaign with the brand – is a celebrity filled two part whodunnit star-studded campaign inviting customers to guess who stole the Christmas dessert. This one really has got the nation talking. Dipping into the very British tradition of a whodunnit as a form of Christmas entertainment is a stroke of pure genius. The darkness of a good whodunnit makes for a pleasing contrast with the somewhat saccharine nature of Christmas itself.

The campaign star-cast includes Succession star Matthew Macfadyen playing the detective and joins comedian Joe Wilkinson, Rakhee Thakrar of Sex Education, Fleabag’s Sian Clifford, Dustin Demri-Burns of Slow Horses and Eryl Maynard of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Much like Pete Markey from Boots (read below) Ansell is not new to a bit of stardust, having recruited Graham Norton for the retailer's Christmas ad last year.

Ansell has served us a delicious dose of drama, suspense and humour with a festive filled ‘whodunnit’ and the ultimate foodie cliff-hanger to keep the nation guessing.

Nathan’s prior retail experience spans ten years at Marks & Spencer, where he was credited with transforming the marketing function into one of the most modern and technically capable functions in UK retail; building strategic partnerships with Google and Facebook to deliver breakthrough innovation and record online growth. He previously held a number of FMCG marketing roles growing brands such as Heinz, Birds Eye and Red Bull.

Mark Given, chief marketing officer, Sainsbury's and Argos

Given has responsibility for marketing across Sainsbury's, Argos, Tu and Home brands, and was put on the operating board of the retailer in the summer of 2020 in a strategic move designed to help the supermarket get closer to its customers. Known for his passion on how the supermarket chain can help its customers make sustainable, healthy choices, Given also looks after customer insight, marketing strategy and planning, CRM & Loyalty, all digital marketing and the Nectar business.

He was appointed the CMO role at the retailer in August 2019 and has responsibility for marketing across Sainsbury’s, Argos, Tu and Home brands. Given joined Sainsbury’s in 2012 and has also been responsible for the overall Nectar coalition since the business was acquired by Sainsbury’s in 2018. Prior to joining Sainsbury’s, Mark built his digital skills leading the Priority programme at O2, successfully revitalised a number of established brands at Heineken UK - where he was responsible for developing the Good Call campaign, Fosters comedy sponsorship and the return of Alan Partridge as well as the return of Peter Kay on John Smiths. He has also worked across Europe on a variety of brands at Procter & Gamble UK.

Together with Radha Davies, his marketing director: brands, planning & creative (read below) the duo pack more than a punch with what they deliver for Christmas campaigns.

The Argos Christmas campaign, developed by T&Pm, sees two of its much-loved characters Connie the doll and Trevor the dinosaur make a comeback.

Radha Davies, marketing director, Sainsbury's (and Argos, Habitat and Tu)

This year, Sainsbury’s has tapped into the magic of Roald Dahl’s ‘The BFG’, reimagining the beloved giant as he embarks on a festive culinary adventure with Sophie, a real Sainsbury’s employee. Created by New Commercial Arts the campaign is not just beautifully crafted but is also festive, familiar and bang on brand. Step forward its marketer - Radha Davies who set her sights firmly on becoming the leading grocery brand since she first started at the retailer in 2021. Davies appointed NCA to the business last year (after the agency won the retailer's home and clothing brand Tu in 2022 and NCA also works on the Sainsbury's-owned Habitat business). The campaign has been hailed as a triumph of effectiveness by System1 and is the first ever Sainsbury’s ad to score the maximum 5.9 Stars on the Test Your Ad platform, making it a real contender in the Christmas ad race.

And the right dose of magic and warmth from a marketer who has always been keen to bring back joy to the supermarket brand in a category that has become hugely functional. In an interview with Creative Salon, when Davies was crowned as the 'Most Creative Marketer' she said: "As retailers, so much of what we do has been largely around cost and prices. Everything else, like the sheer joy of food, has somehow got lost in the mix." Prawn Coat-tails, Beef Welly-boot, Wigs in Blankets and Snozzcumbers - BFG guides viewers through a festive culinary adventure in this heartwarming campaign.

Pete Markey, chief marketing officer, Boots UK

This is one marketer who needs little introduction. He's always been defined by ferocious ambition and a passionate pursuit of great work.

This year the health and beauty retailer’s festive campaign takes us behind-the-scenes at Father Christmas’ bedazzled space where we meet Mrs Claus - Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh - who is revealed to be the woman behind her husband’s world-famous delivery round and is supported in her Christmas Eve preparations by an array of elves. Created by VML and dedicated WPP division The Pharm, it’s all very magical.

For Markey, this year's extravaganza ( the biggest beauty campaign since ‘Here Come The Girls') displays a "sassy confidence." He should know, this is after all his fourth Christmas campaign at Boots, so he knows how to deliver during the most wonderful time of the year. The one blip, however, is this absurd rage-filled fury at the campaign from online trolls. Read our interview with Markey and Ryan McManus, VML UK’s chief creative officer to understand how Boots is celebrating the unsung powerhouses who make Christmas so special, while trying to make magic for consumers along the way.

Becky Brock, customer director, Tesco

This is Brock's first Christmas ad for Tesco. And she's played a stunner. She joined the UK's biggest retailer this summer. Created by BBH, the campaign follows a man who together with his grandfather helps to carry on the festive tradition of his late grandmother by making a gingerbread house for Christmas. The houses are gingerbread, the trees are gingerbread. Even the stray foxes are gingerbread. It’s a Christmas paradise, but with a beautifully crafted poignant message about absent family and friends.

Creative Salon recently acknowledged Brock as the marketer of the week for boldly reimagining Tesco’s distinctive blue dashes logo and replacing them with food. Those who know her, say this about her - Brock is hugely ambitious for experience, moving across categories and notching up an impressive range of sector knowledge along the way. Brock, the former global commercial, marketing & innovation director at Costa Coffee, was appointed to the role at Tesco earlier this summer. Prior to this she served as transformation director at John Lewis & Partners, having joined the retailer as marketing director in 2017. Before John Lewis, Becky undertook notable stints at Outdoor and Cycle Concepts, Home Retail Group and The Edrington Group. She began her career at Unilever.

Rachel Eyre, chief customer and marketing officer, Morrisons

It's the return of the oven glove. Morrisons has brought its singing oven gloves back for a second Christmas to celebrate the hosts who choreograph the nation’s festive feasts. Created by Leo Burnett, the anthropomorphic oven mitts return in Morrisons’ latest festive campaign, celebrating the nation’s unsung holiday heroes: the dedicated hosts. It is a move that signals how the retailer's top marketer Eyre is once again placing marketing effectiveness front and centre of this campaign, with the aim being to get really emotionally engaging work that’s highly impactful. Last year, the campaign was awarded a 5.9 star rating from System1 - a measure predicting their potential to drive long-term brand growth.

Eyre joined Morrisons in April 2021. Prior to joining Morrisons, she held a number of senior marketing and commercial roles at Sainsbury’s and Barclays. At Morrisons, Eyre was responsible for the recent update of the MoreCard loyalty scheme as a hyper-personalised initiative that, it says, has enabled the retailer to leapfrog ahead in terms of innovation.

Sharry Cramond, M&S Food marketing director

M&S Food’s 2024 Christmas ad sees the return of the nation's beloved Dawn French as the Christmas fairy, with the star also making an on-screen appearance as herself, as the retailer underlines the importance of consistency to cut through.

The playful campaign, created in-house, is a series of six executions and its final ad, airing on 17 December, will feature a festive cameo performance by classical singer Katherine Jenkins.

Cramond has been known to be on a mission to increasing the brand’s recognition among younger people. On her watch, each M&S stores across the country have established a unique presence on social media, from TikTok to Instagram to Facebook. Cramond started her career at Kraft, before joining Tesco where she stayed for just over a decade in a variety of marketing and commercial Director roles, including being part of the team who created both Tesco Bank and Tesco Telecoms. She then moved to Melbourne, Australia where she led all brand communications for Coles. After four years in Australia, Sharry reunited with Tesco as group marketing director, before moving to America to become chief marketing officer of Southeastern Grocers. In 2018, Cramond moved back from the US to join M&S - as well as being Marketing Director for the Food group, Sharry also leads the Sparks Loyalty programme across the business. Other than her retail marketing career, Sharry is also a published author with her book “Win Your Lottery."

Richard Cristofoli, chief customer officer, Freemans

The online retailer and MullenLowe continue the tradition of launching its Christmas campaign first, marking the second year it has released its festive ad in October to cater to early-bird shoppers. The feel good campaign uses Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Freedom of the Night’ track, which the star performed on the Strictly results show recently.

At the time of the launch of the campaign, on October 26, Cristofoli said: “Tis the season to start Christmas shopping. The two-month Christmas countdown is on and most consumers are starting early to spread the cost of the festive season. By launching now, we have two pay days to go until the big day and we're offering more help and advice than ever before via our Style Squad, making it easier for customers to nail the perfect gift and manage their festive finances.”

A former Debenhams director, Cristofoli joined the home shopping group Freemans Grattan Holdings as its first chief customer officer in 2020.