Waitrose Wins Hearts (Again) This Christmas

Waitrose has done it again, turning a Christmas ad into a legitimate rom-com.

The main characters from last year's campaign, The Perfect Gift return with a sequel, that, this year, sees "more rom than com", as Keira Knightly returns [as herself] on the day of her wedding, alongside [but surprisingly not to] Joe Wilkinson as Phil who she met in the original ad. The plot? Knightly is set to marry Rivals star Alex Hassell, while Wilkinson embarks on a journey to win her back, armed with a homemade Waitrose beef wellington.

It’s funny, charming, and heart-warming – and that’s just Wilkinson and Knightly kissing to Jennifer Rush’s The Power of Love in a kitchen [sorry for the spoiler]. 

The full six-minute film, directed by Bafta-winning Molly Manners [One Day], looks to expand on last year’s work, while avoiding the rinse and repeat nature of including the same characters. “We didn't want to just revisit – we wanted to make sure that every element of this film felt different and was bringing something new to the table,” explains Stacey Bird, ECD at Wonderhood Studios.

“It's been very fun watching all of the theories online as to what might happen after the teaser came out; quite a lot of people assumed that it would be the wedding of Phil and Keira, but obviously it's a surprise at the beginning already with our introduction," she continues.

The power of love

Off the back of last year’s ad, Nathan Ansell, Waitrose’s chief customer officer, reveals that it was never a question to not do a sequel; the general public making their strong feelings known towards The Perfect Gift ensured that. “We were super blown away with the comments on the last ad, and when we started preparing for this year we went back and looked at what worked, what didn't work, and the response," he explains. “A particular quote stood out: ‘We need a whole series. Every Christmas we get an update on where they are now in the relationship. Get it on now’.”

Not only was audience's opinion a key factor; Ansell adds that the response in brand momentum, sales, and metrics off the back of last year’s work has been "fantastic". He adds, “We couldn't resist going back again. This time upping the production and creative stakes.”

Once again, the work delivers nods to classic rom-com moments – the rush to make it in time for the wedding [The Graduate], the objection [every film with a wedding], Knightly’s proposal monologue [Notting Hill]. However, Bird notes that this year, they tried to take a spin on what audiences may expect. “This year it feels more original – that was a big part of the brief, how we make it feel a bit fresher this year, rather than trying to recreate more rom-com tropes,” she says. “There’s obviously the race to the wedding, and the stopping of the ceremony, but one little detail, for example, is instead of him coming in on the ‘if anybody here knows any reason’, we left it just that little bit longer to do a slightly different twist on the trope.”

The Power of Love is also vital to the soul of the ad. “Every time we watched it, we tried to have that mentality of, ‘I'm watching for the first time. What am I feeling in the moment when it comes in and hits?’ And that track just delivered on that continuously," explains Jack Croft, ECD at Wonderhood Studios.

Bird reveals a working mantra the team followed when planning the details of the campaign: “We kept saying over-and-over again, ‘Give the people what they want’ – which we also did last year. They want to see these guys kiss. They want to see Joe being funny, and the music was part of that as well; it might be a bit of a cheesy ballad, but actually, it's got massive emotional power.” 

Also featuring through out is a score written by award-winning composer Harry Lightfoot, and recorded by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Croft explains how the musical choices are specifically chosen to suit the emotional storyline; “There's a flavour of the Jennifer Rush track at the beginning, and then the score takes over with the strings, and then back to the track. We wanted to make sure the whole piece fitted together, and matches the emotions being shown.”

Entertainment-first

It’s a fine line including Hollywood firepower in an ad without it distracting from the brand’s purpose (or shoving it down audiences’ throats). It’s a balance the team constantly considered – how to make a viewer recognise it's a Waitrose ad, not a Keira Knightly blockbuster. 

For Bird, the world that had already been built in the first part allowed for products to be weaved into the story – from Phil cooking with pastry to a cheese board featuring at the end. “Keira and Joe kind of have their own Waitrose IP now, which is really helpful,” she outlines. “Obviously, we want the brand to show up in a really natural way that's not going to feel out of place in the middle of a rom-com.”

Nothing in the ad is there by mistake, notes Croft – and the brand showing up in key moments, from Knightly running through the store aisles, fits perfectly.

The ad is also yet another example of Waitrose’s ambition of entertaining audiences through its marketing.

Ansell speaks of the company’s rising ambitions to be the home of food lovers. “It’s a really important part of what we're becoming over a period of time,” he explains. “You'll see that for everything from our podcast to our in-store experience to our product ranges.” 

He describes entertainment as the “heart” of what Waitrose is trying to do; “We want to be the entertainer rather than interrupting the entertainment.”

Turning a supermarket into an entertainment brand is no easy feat, but it’s the one the creative team at Wonderhood Studios is an expert in. “We know the importance of doing big entertainment, and it's being able to live out our agency's ambition to the absolute max,” says Bird. “You get a brand that's so loved by the general public willing to do something different. It's really exciting to get a brief like that.” 

Croft too describes the ambitions of Waitrose as a “dream” for a creative: “It's such an iconic brand, but it takes great confidence from Nathan and his team to go, ‘Let's fully lean into this. We can behave like this’.”

With the positive response The Perfect Gift brought last year and even the previous year's 2025 murder mystery style Sweet Suspicion, is Waitrose emerging as the surprise Christmas frontrunner for ads, taking the crown of its stablemate company John Lewis? 

Ansell is quick to voice that while Waitrose is “super supportive” internally, the brand isn’t looking to compete with others, preferring to focus on its own game. “Honestly, they do their thing, and we do our thing,” he explains. “We get on well and have fun together as brands. They're going to put our ad on their website, for example. There's lots of ways we can work together.”

Showstopping social

Alongside the main hero film, Waitrose is hoping to take social media by storm with a range of assets, made with Wonderhood’s social arm, Makers Studio. 

Ansell reveals across the year Waitrose has already received 3 billion impressions across social channels – up 35 per cent year on year. “Our social team internally working with Wonderhood Makers, are just on fire at the moment,” he lauds. “They work with over 100 different influencers. They've got a proper ear to the ground with trends, and it's working incredibly well for us.” 

Humour is the overarching theme with its social work, leaning into Waitrose’s core strategy and the creative ‘Give the people what they want’ mantra; there’s more of Knightly and Wilkinson, behind the scenes clips, a trailer that includes footage not used in the hero film, bloopers, and even a take on the Meet Cute social trend between Keira and Phil.

“Leaning into comedy works better socially,” outlines Bird. “Meet cutes was such a brilliant idea from the creatives, and it makes so much sense because allows us to tell more of the background story. Everyone’s going to ask why did we split up, we've got a piece of content that explains that. Everything's doing something to build a story out, but it's specific to social.”

The "Waitrose Cinematic Universe" as Ansell describes it, expands beyond across OOH work that mirror film posters, product films starring the ad's leading duo, and in stores, where customers can see easter eggs on their receipts, win freebies through its loyalty scheme, and even receive an apron (as seen in the ad) through the post. 

Waitrose has shown, yet again, that being a supermarket is far from boring at Christmas time. But will there be a third installment? Ansell raises and eyebrow but isn't giving the game away. “The strategy is working and we're super happy with that. It allows brilliant creatives to have as much freedom as they need to be able to do what works for the brand and what works for customers. Who knows what we'll do next year? We'll start working and find out.”