Waitrose commits to putting in care to make Christmas special

Waitrose launches its Christmas campaign, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” - conceived by adam&eveDDB - which highlights the time and effort of its partners, farmers, growers, producers and artisan suppliers put into every Christmas product all year round, showcasing the care put in to make Christmas special.

The “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” advert, created by adam&eveDDB and shot by Academy Award-nominated director Henry-Alex Rubin, used a cast made up of the brand's real life partners and suppliers (with only the celebrating family as actors) working in all weather conditions from 1st January through to the festive season to ensure a special Christmas. Each of the preparation scenes depict various challenges faced throughout the year, including one of the pork farmers smashing through an iced over drinking trough, fences being put up with lighting in the background, farmers working through the hot summer to get their crops ready, Brussels sprout picking in the torrential rain and apple picking in high winds at the Leckford Estate farm.

The spot also offers insight into the finishing details for some of this year’s festive favourites such as the No.1 Blood Orange and White Chocolate Quenelle, expertly finished by Waitrose Senior Development Chef, Will Torrent, one of the Fish Specialists Alfonso (Alf) Perez carefully portioning the Fresh Whole Scottish Salmon and No.1 Cherry & Amaretto Stollen being hand finished.

Emma Isaac, Head of Marketing at Waitrose comments: “Christmas is a very special period, and we don’t often talk about the time and effort our Waitrose Partners and our many farmers, growers and producers spend making the day magical for our customers. This year we wanted to do something different from the norm that’s inspired by our Partnership Purpose and builds on why Waitrose food is ‘Food To Feel Good About’. So, we decided the care, hard work and dedication of our suppliers and Partners deserved the spotlight in this year’s campaign because at the end of the day we couldn’t do Christmas without them.”

The ad will first air on television on Tuesday 15th November during the final of The Great British Bake Off. It will also run on video on demand platforms, cinema, BVOD, YouTube and online video all planned by MG OMD

Matt Gay, Creative Director at adam&eveDDB says: “It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out at Christmas, making it tempting to create epic narratives with heaving tables of food. But we just didn’t feel that was the right approach, considering the social climate. So when we saw a script that had a unique take on Christmas, it felt like a refreshing way to go.”

Hannah Gardner, Business Director at MG OMD comments: “This year we needed to diversify our channel mix, be smarter with our phasing and adjust to our audience’s behaviours; to overcome the challenges around inflation, scale and competition. We are thrilled to see our campaign launch in the biggest shows on TV, first with the Bake Off Final, followed by a spot in I’m A Celeb, alongside a diverse AV mix to showcase our story of Care at Christmas. Beyond AV, we have a multi-channel approach that delivers on impact and innovation, to really get our audience excited for what is to come this season from Waitrose.”

As part of the campaign, Waitrose will also launch a number of product adverts* from 17th November for Waitrose Free-Range Bronze Feathered Turkey; Heston from Waitrose Fig and Pear Mince Pies in Triple Cheese Pastry with Heston from Waitrose Tipsy Potted Stilton; Heston from Waitrose Hot Chocolate Pennies; and Waitrose No.1 Blood Orange and White Chocolate Quenelle.

Like the John Lewis ad before it, the message of care sits at the heart of the Waitrose Christmas ad - in this instance, showing the great care that goes into producing its products at Christmas.

The John Lewis Partnership is driven by its purpose to create a happier world. As well as continuing to take measures to support suppliers through challenging times, it wants to help young people leaving the care system - a group that often face huge inequalities. Waitrose have made a long term commitment to give more young care leavers employment opportunities and have recently launched its Building Happier Futures programme to support this ambition.

Credits:

Creative Agency: adam&eveDDB

Media Planning & Buying: MG OMD

Production company: Smuggler

Director: Henry-Alex Rubin

DOP: Kaspar Tuxen

Producer: Ray Leakey

MD/Exec Producer: Lucy Kelly

Production Manager: Mike Carr

Production Designer: Agnieszka Debska

Wardrobe Designer: Poppy Bell

Hero Casting: Annabel Kennedy

Editor: Scot Crane

Post Production: Untold

Audio Post Production: Factory

Music Supervisor: Theodore Music