Morrisons’ Christmas Ad Shows It’s a Holiday That Takes All Year To Make

Morrisons Christmas advert launches on Tuesday 4th November with a 90-second TV ad that celebrates Morrisons farmers and food makers as they work through the seasons to prepare for magical meals and festive moments.  

The “Making More of Christmas” film captures the story of colleagues and food makers within Morrisons unique fresh food business - including its own factories, direct from farm sourcing and in-store food making. It shows the skill and dedication of British Christmas preparation through the eyes of those who make it happen; Morrisons farmers and food makers, bakers, fishermen and delivery drivers whose year-round and behind-the-scenes efforts ensure customers have everything they need for their own Christmas celebrations. 

With the upcoming LHF changes requiring a new creative approach, the advert captures the essence of Morrisons delicious festive range without showcasing a single mince pie! Instead, Morrisons has built on its recent campaigns by showcasing the care, attention and hard work that goes on behind the scenes to fill Morrisons shelves with fresh, quality food. 

The new TV advert first airs at 7:40am during Good Morning Britain and builds on Morrisons recent campaigns focusing on fresh, quality food. It opens in the height of summer, with a farmer cheerfully shouting “Merry Christmas” to a bemused dog walker before cutting to a Morrisons bakery decked in fairy lights, even though it’s only August. From there, the story travels the length of the UK through the seasons, showcasing a fisherman’s boat glowing with Christmas lights in the sunshine, to a tractor covered in fairy lights delighting trick or treaters on Halloween.

It concludes with the silhouette of Father Christmas knocking at a front door, before revealing a Morrisons delivery driver arriving with a festive shop, closing on the line: “At Morrisons, we’ve been growing, making, baking and crafting all year long.”

The advert ends with Morrisons iconic line: “More reasons to shop at Morrisons”, after championing Morrisons year-round commitment to fresh, local and seasonal produce and the care and craft of colleagues, and the community spirit that make the festive season so special.

The film, by creative agency Leo UK, is directed by Aaron Stoller, the award-winning filmmaker behind Super Bowl campaigns for the NFL such as ‘Celebrations to Come’ and recent campaigns for Call of Duty and Wealthsimple, and is produced by Biscuit Filmworks. The film is set to a new recording of Jona Lewie’s classic “Stop the Cavalry”.   

Matt McLellan, Morrisons Group Customer, Data & Marketing Director, said: “Our Christmas advert tells the story of how our festive fayre, such as our award-winning mince pies or delicious smoked salmon, appears on our shelves and the care and attention that our colleagues and food makers put into making them.  At Morrisons, our unique capabilities in fresh food mean we’ve been helping to make more of Christmas all year by growing, picking, baking, proving, prepping and planning to support our customers as the big day draws near.”

Mark Elwood, Chief Creative Officer at Leo Burnett UK, added: “The quality and commitment that goes into every ingredient of Morrisons Christmas food is a true labour of love. They’ve been growing, harvesting, smoking, maturing, crafting and creating all year long, so you can make more of your Christmas.”

The media strategy, planning and buying has been led by Wavemaker UK and the campaign will run across TV, cinema, digital, social, radio, print and outdoor.

A series of shorter 60" and 20" edits will continue the theme across November and December to celebrate the real people behind the food.

CREDITS

CAMPAIGN TITLE: ‘A Year in The Making’

CLIENT: Morrisons

MARKETING DIRECTOR: Alex Rogerson 

SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER: Mike Neilson

MARKETING MANAGER: Stephanie Haworth

MARKETING COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST: Gurneet Sidhu 

MARKETING COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST: Chloe Obinu

ADVERTISING AGENCY: Leo UK

CCO: Mark Elwood

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Kimberley Gill

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Beth Manning

BRAND SENIOR CREATIVE: Helen Rogerson

BRAND SENIOR CREATIVE: Owen Hunter Jenkins

TRADE SENIOR CREATIVE: Georgia Horrocks

TRADE SENIOR CREATIVE: Holly Henderson

CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF DESIGN: Dave Allen

DESIGN LEAD: Rupert Knowlden

SENIOR DESIGNER: Roxana Iriciuc

PLANNING DIRECTOR: Rebecca Priest

PLANNER: Omari Green

BUSINESS LEAD: Sophie Garrett

SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Ben Mallins

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Carys Parry

ACCOUNT MANAGER: Jessica Lakay

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Phoebe Hart

AGENCY PRODUCER: Hector Murray

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Sara Gill

PROJECT DIRECTOR: Peter Lewendon

PROJECT MANAGER: Anna Matyasovszki

MEDIA BUYING AGENCY: Wavemaker

MEDIA PLANNING LEAD: Iona Shankland

MEDIA PLANNING MANAGER: Bianca Papadopoulos

BUSINESS DIRECTOR: James Devine

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Biscuit Filmworks UK

DIRECTOR: Aaron Stoller

PRODUCER: Lara Baldwin

FOUNDING PARTNER: Shawn Lacy

MANAGING DIRECTOR: Rupert Reynolds-MacLean

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Katie Keith

HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Emily Atterton

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Samantha Somers

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Protima Banerjee

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Corey Waters

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Sarah Jenneson

CASTING DIRECTOR: Claire Catterson

STYLIST: Kirsty Halliday and Stuart Truesdale

MAKEUP Artist: Jak Morgan

SERVICE COMPANY: Tartan Door Films

SERVICE COMPANY PRODUCER: Maeve McMahon

EDITING COMPANY: Stitch Editing

EDITOR: Tim Hardy 

PRODUCER: Sarah Adewunmi

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Chris Hutchings

VFX STUDIO: Black Kite

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Hannah Ruddleston

PRODUCER: Reece Whiteley

VFX LEAD: Ed Poulson

VFX ASSISTANT: Jonny Freeman & Pablo Oliver
COLOURIST: Tom Mangham

DMP: David Early

VFX SHOOT SUPERVISOR: Chris Mortimer  

AUDIO POST-PRODUCTION : String & Tins

SOUND DESIGN & MIX ENGINEER: Adam Smyth & Jim Stewart

AUDIO PRODUCER: Alina Miroshnichenko & Esi Jonuzi

MUSIC COMPANY: Massive Music

FOLEY: Cobblestone